"Work with the government and not against them, it's the only way forward," warned independent quality assurance consultant Gloria Castrillón on Friday 24 March, speaking at Edexcel's 2006 Private Education Seminar entitled 'The Future of Private Education in South Africa'.

Castrillón motivated private educators to seize the regulatory changes with enthusiasm to build a more sustainable future for private education and, most importantly, for students in the medium term. "They have one shot at an education. They deserve the best as they cannot get this valuable time back," she advised.

Anton Barnett-Harris, Regional Director Africa, Edexcel - the seminar organiser - was overwhelmed by the response from local educators. "There's a real commitment to quality assurance here which is infinitely positive for students in the future. As leaders in international benchmarking, we've been inundated with the response - events in both Cape Town and Jo'burg had to be increased in size due to the relevance of the presentations."

He added, "South Africa has a very dynamic educational system facing huge challenges. The private providers have an important role to play in providing world class education to a wide selection of learners. But the state can’t do it alone and so there is a big opportunity for private providers who can embrace quality and who can give their students qualifications which are internationally benchmarked.”

There is no doubt that private education providers have previously felt that the plethora of regulatory red tape cluttering their jobs has done little to support their efforts at developing the country's skill set. The Department of Education's legal requirements, other quality assurance and accreditation processes have left many private education providers feeling frustrated and over-whelmed.

But Castrillón urged the audience, comprising key players in the private education sector, of the need to be cognisant of the government's responsibility to protect SA students from exploitation. She comments, "South Africa's regulatory environment aims to support social and educational transformation through the quality provision of education. Castrillón explains, "As educational providers we need to constantly evaluate and measure the value that we are offering. For example, do we know how many of our qualified students step into jobs? And are we speaking to employers to establish their experience of how job-ready our graduates are?"

Castrillón has sound advice for the sustainability of private education providers. Her vital tips for longevity include:
• Make quality assurance everyone's business, thereby developing an institution-wide approach to quality management;
• Always go beyond compliance by aiming higher than the minimum requirements;
• Benchmark locally and internationally where relevant; and
• Actively engage in institutional planning and pay close attention to resource allocation.

Castrillón also highlighted the importance of education providers establishing and maintaining their unique selling point. She continued, “While government policy requires that we ensure educational and quality outcomes are the same, this needn't equate to conformity.”

Another key note speaker, Clinton Int'veld, founder and CEO of the X-Pert Group of companies, echoed Castrillón's advice that education providers constantly integrate quality management considerations into all academic and administrative processes. Int'veld comments, "There can never be too many checks and balances. Worldwide advances mean that nothing stands still, so we need to benchmark ourselves in order to establish our knowledge as exceptional, to compete internationally and to endorse the work we've done." He added, "Obtaining Edexcel certification felt like a natural fit for us. Now that our Intellectual Property has been vetted to meet international standards, prospective employers know that the person they are recruiting has gone through a global level of study."

For more information contact Anton Barnett Harris at anton@edexcel.org.za