Education Laws Amendment Act [No. 48 0f 1999]
REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA
GOVERNMENT GAZETTE
STAATSKOERANT
VAN DIE REPUBLIEK VAN SUID-AFRIKA
Reqistere~l ~it the Post Ofice czs a Nevvspaper ,~s ‘n l~lillib[(zci [Iy die poskl~tlroor Ger(’,yistree’r
CAPE TO;VN, 19 NOVENIBER 199Y VOL 413 hTO. 20650
KAAPSTAD, 1 Y NOVENIBER 199Y
I OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENCY
No. [398. 19 November [999
1[ is hereby notified that the President h~s assented to the following Act w h i c h i> hereby p u b l i s h e d for generol in form:ltion-
No, 48 of 1999: Educ:~tion LJ\v\ ,4mendment Act, 1999,
KANTOOR VAN DIE PRESIDENSIE
? NO. 20650” GO\ ’ERNh4EXTGkZETTE. l~NO\”Eh[UER IQY9
.4ct No. 48, 1999 EDL~CATIOX LAWJS A.MEND%IENT .4 CT. 1999
GENERAL EXPLANATORY NOTE:
[ 1 Words in bold type in square brackets indicate omissions from existing enactments.
Words underlined with a solid line indicate insertions in existing enactmenL~.
{Englisl~ text signed b> r)ze President.) (Asxented 1018 No~ember 1999.)
ACT To amend the South African Certification Council Act, 1986, so as to substitute certain definitions, to delete others and to insert new definitions; to provide anew for the functions of an examining body, the Director-General and the council, with regard to examinations; to allow the council to prescribe fees for the issue or endorsement of a certificate; and to remove obsolete references from the long title; to amend the National Education Policy Act, 1996, so as to make certain technical adjustments; to amend the South African Schools Act, 1996, so as to substitute certain definitions; to provide for the merger of two or more public schools and to regulate the consequences of such merger; to make provision for the temporary closure of a public school in the case of an emergency; to provide for an additional function of a governing body; to make further provision regarding co-opted members of governing bodies; to make certain technical adjustments; and to make further provision regarding claims for damages; to amend the Employment of Educators Act, 1998, so as to make provision for a timeframe within which a governing body or council must make its recommendations when an educator is appointed; and to dispense with the necessity for a recommendation by a governing body or council in the case of temporary transfers; and to provide for matters connected therewith.
BE IT ENACTED by the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa, asfollows:— Amendment of section 1 of Act 85 of 1986, as amended by section 1 of Act 89 of 1992
1. Section 1 of the South African Certification Council Act, 1986. is hereby amended—
(a) by the substitution for the definition of “certificate” of the following definition:
‘L cce~ificate. means a certificate contemplated in section [9(1)]
m;.’: (b) by the substitution for the definition of “Director-General.’ of the following
definition: ‘. ‘Director-General’ means the Director-General of [National Educa- tion] the government department responsible for education at national level:.’:
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(~) b~ the substitution for the definition Of ‘education department’ of the foilowin& definition:
‘b ‘education department’ means a department [of State] responsible for [general or own] education [matters including a provincial education department] at national level or a de partment responsible for education in a province;””:
((1) bv the substitution for the definition of “examining body.. of the following d~finition:
.’ ‘examining bed}. means an education department or any other body re~istered with the council as a body responsible for conducting external examinations [at a point of withdrawal];.>;
(~)) by the insertion after the definition of .’ executi\’e officer” of the fo]]owing definition:
‘. ‘external examination’ means an examination at a point of withdrawal taken by the candidates of an examining body;”;
(f) b} the deletion of the definition of “formal education.’; ix) b; the substitution for the definition of “Minister’. of the following definition:
“ ‘Minister. means the Minister of [National] Education;.’: (/7) by the deletion of the definition of “non-formal education”; (;) by the substitution for the definition of “point of withdrawal.’ of the following
definition: “ ‘point of withdrawal’ means a stage in [school or technical college education] general or [non-formal education] further education and - at which a candidate is required to sit for an examination with a view to obtaining documentary proof of proficiency;.’;
(j) by the inse~ion after tbe definition of “prescribe.’ of the following definition: “ raw marks. means the actual marks obtained by a candidate in a subject in an external examination before any adjustment of the marks is made by the council.”: and
(k) by the deletion of the definition of “school or technical college education”.
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Substitution of section 9 of Act 8j of 1986, as amended by section 2 of Act 89 of 1992
2. The following sections are hereby substituted for section 9 of the South African Certification Council Act, 1986:
“Functions of examining body with regard to external examination
9. In respect of an external examination to be conducted. an examinin~ 35 body, subject to policy determined in terms of section 3(4) of the National Education Policy Act, 1996 (Act No. 27 of 1996)— (a)
(17)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
(g)
shall take adequate measures. including measures to combat irregu- larities in the examination venue and security measures for ensuring the confidentiality of examination papers. to ensure the integrit>’ of the 40 examinations: shall ensure that each paper is representative of the prescribed subject matter; shall ensure that each paper is moderated by at least one competent internal moderator: 45 shall submit a paper and memorandum to an external moderator for confirmation that they conform to the required standards: shall ensure that a sample of the examination scripts is moderated by an external moderator: shall schedule a particular paper for a stipulated date and time on the 50 examination time-table; shall suppl!’ the council on or before a date and in the form determined by the council. with a mark for each subject in which a candidate sat for examination:
(1~~ shall \vithouL delay and in wrilillg supply the counci l and the Directol--General with full details of any irre~uiarities that occurred in respect of such examination as well as the steps taken with regard to such irregularities:
(;) shall publish the results of the examination after obtaining the appro(al of the council; and
(./) maY recommend to the council during the standardisation process that r~w marks be ad~usted.
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Functions of Director-General with regard to external examination
9A. With regard to external examination the Director-General— 10 (a) shall prolmote the integrity of the examination system; (b) shall monitor the conduct of the council and the examinin& body in
upholdin& the minimum norms and standards set by the South African Qualifications Authority. established by section 3 of the South African Qualifications Authority Act, 1995 (Act No. 58 of 1995), or 15 determined by policy; and
(c) may institute an investigation into any irregularities which may occur.
Functions of council with regard to external examination
9B. ( 1 ) Sublect to policy determined in terms of section 3(4) of the National Education Policy Act. 1996 (Act No. 27 of 1996), the council, with regard to external examination— (a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
shall perform the external moderation of examination papers, memo- randa and samples of examination scripts of all examining bodies; shall. in consultation with the Director-General and the examining body, approve the publication of the results of candidates if the council is satisfied that the examining body— (j) (ii)
(iii)
(iv)
conducted the examination free from any irregulmity: complied with the requirements prescribed by the council for conducting examinations; applied the norms and standards prescribed by the council and the South African Qualifications Authority, established by section 3 of the South African Qualifications Authority Act. 1995 (Act No. 58 of 1995). and with which a candidate is required to comply in those examinations in order to obtain a certificate; and complied u’ith every other condition determined by the council;
shall iss~e certificates in the form prescribed by the council to candidates who. in one or more subjects at a point of withdrawal- (i) hatre met the requirements set by the council for a certificate; and (ii) have complied with every other condition determined by the
council: and may adjust raw marks during the standardisation process in consulta- tion with the Director-General.
(~) subject to the appr~i a] of the h4inister. the council n~a~ register an examining body other than a department of education in accordance with criteria determined by the council.
(3j Subject to section 74 of the Higher Educ:ltion Act. 1997 (Act No. 101 of 1997). the council may with the approval of a body authorised to determine the requirements for admission to study at a higher education institution. endorse a certificate of a candidate who has complied with the minimum requirements for admission to study at a higher education institution accordin~lv.
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Fees payable to council
9C. The council n~a~ prescribe the fees payable to the council in respect of— (a) the issue of a certificate as contemplated in section 9B( 1 )(c) or of u
duplicate certificate; and 5 (bj the endorsement of a certificate as contemplated in section 9B(3) or of
a duplicate certificate,’..
Substitution of long title of Act 8j of 1986
3. The South African Certification Council Act. 1986, is hereby amended by the substitution for the long title of the following long tit~e:
“TO provide for control over the norms and standards of subject matter and examination, and for the issuing of certificates, at the different points of withdrawal in [school] ,~eneral and [technical college education] further education and training [and non-formal education]: and for that purpose to establish the South = Certification Council; and to provide for the conducting of [common] examinations; and to provide for matters connected therewith.”.
Amendment of section 3 of Act 27 of 1996, as amended by section 11 of Act 100 of 1997
4. Section 3 of the National Education Policy Act. 1996. is hereby amended by the substitution for subsection (3) of the following subsection:
“(3) [Whenever the Minister wishes a particular] Subject to the Constitution. national policy [to prevail] shall prevail over the whole or a part of any provincial [law] * on education [the Minister shall inform the provincial political heads of education accordingly, and make a specific declaration in the policy instrument to that effect] if there is a conflict between the national and provincial -’”
Amendment of section 5 of Act 27 of 1996
5. Section 5 of the National Education Policy Act, 1996, is hereby amended by the substitution in subsection (l) for para~raDhs (b). (c) and (d) of the following paragraphs:,.
c’(b) such national organisatio~s ‘rep{esentin.~ [college rectors] p~incipals of institutions providing further ed~cation an-d trainin~ as defined in section 1 of the Further Education and Training Act, 1998 (Act No. 98 of 1998). as the Minister may recognise for this purpose; the [organised teaching profession] trade unions represented in the Educalion Labour Relations Council referred to in section 37(3)(b) of the Labour Reiations Act. 1995 (Act No 66 of 1995), read with para~raph 3(2) of Schedule 1 to that Act: such national organisations representing [parents] coverning bodies of schools as the Nfinister may recognise for this purpose:.’.
.4mendment of section 1 of Act 84 of 1996, as amended by section 1 of Act 100 of 1997
6. Section 1 of the South African Schools Act. 1996. is hereby amended- (o) by the substitution for the definition of ‘educator. of the following definition:
“ ‘educator. means [an educator as defined in the Educators Employment Act, 1994 (Proclamation No. 138 of 1994)] any person. excluding a person who is appointed to exclusively perform extra- curricular duties. who teaches. educates or trains other persons or who provides professional educational services. including professional therapy and education psychological sert’ices. at a .!cIIoo1;’.: and
(b) by the substitution for the definition of “school.’ of the following definition: “ ‘school’ means a p~~bl;c scitool or an independent ,SC)IOOI which enrols leo~”~lers in one or more g~-adts from g/”ud[J [zero] R (Reception) to ,qlodc’ twelve:.’.
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!(, :\(J. 20(,5(1 (,[)\” EK>31EITG\ZETl”F: )’ make an app ointment without such recommendation.”.
Amendment of section 8 of Act 76 of 1998
16. Section 8 of the Employment of Educators Act, 1998, is hereby amended— (a) by the substitution in subsection (2) for the word “No” of the expression
“Subject to subsections (4) and (5), no”; and (b) by the addition of the following subsections:
“(4) A recommendation contemplated in subsection (2) shall be made within two months from the date on which a governing body or council was requested to make a recommendation, failing which the Head of Depmment may make a transfer without such recommendation.
(5) The Head of Department may, without a recommendation contemplated in subsection (2), transfer an educator temporarily for a stated period from a post at a public school or public further education and training institution, to a post at another public school or public further education and trainin& institution.
(6) An educator referred to in subsection (5) shall return to his or her previous post at the end of the period contemplated in that subsection.”.
Short title
17. This Act is the Education Laws Amendment Act, 1999.
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