Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Don’t panic, CPUT students advised
STUDENTS studying for the yet-tobe-accredited Diploma in Urban and Regional Planning at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) have been told not to panic.
A number of concerned students spoke to Weekend Argus after they found out that their course is not accredited by the South African Council for Planners (Sacplan).
The regulatory body, in conjunction with the South African Qualifications Authority (Saqa) and the Council on Higher Education (CHE), accredits the qualification after going through it and are satisfied that the standards set have been met.
One of the students doing her third year said they were informed by CPUT that it would be phasing out the National Diploma in Urban and Regional Planning and the course now will be a Diploma in Urban and Regional Planning.
“We were also told that the fourth year will no longer be called a Btech but now an advanced diploma. It didn’t seem like a huge deal until we found out that the course is not accredited by Sacplan,” said the student.
The Department of Higher Education and Training announced national diplomas and Btech will be phased out over time and replaced by diplomas, advanced diplomas and postgraduate diplomas. This started in 2020.
“I personally contacted Sacplan, as well as my mother. I can’t recall the name of the lady I spoke to, but she said that they have to be invited to the campus by the head of the department to evaluate the course.
“We have had numerous discussions as students with some of the lecturers, with no help. The faculty is so small so bringing up the subject becomes a bit of an issue. At this point, we are just studying, but we don’t know what’s going on,” the student said.
Weekend Argus contacted Sacplan and the registrar, Martin Lewis, confirmed that the qualification was not accredited but the students should not be alarmed yet.
“We have not come to evaluate the qualification since the phasing out of the national diploma started two years ago.
“It is a new qualification and is still valid as it is registered with Saqa. Once this cohort completes the qualification, we will then be invited by the institution to come and assess the quality and standard and if there are issues we will address them with the institution,” Lewis said.
He added that this was normal whenever there was a new qualification, and said they were comfortable with what CPUT has been offering. “We do visit every five years to evaluate the qualification and I do not foresee any issues with the qualification offered by CPUT, but I cannot commit that everything is above board.”
Weekend Argus reported last week that a number of dental technology graduates from CPUT had been left in limbo as their qualifications were deemed useless.
The graduates cannot find work as they are not registered with the South African Dental Technicians Council.
The university is not the only institution facing this dilemma; Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) and Durban University of Technology (DUT) graduates are also left in limbo.