The National Professional Diploma in Education (NPDE) – is a qualification which has as its purpose the upgrading of qualifications of currently under-qualified educators. UKZN offers the NPDE for such educators who teach in different settings and in different bands of the National Qualifications Framework (NQF).
The NPDE:VT is specifically designed for educators who work in FET Institutions as well as practitioners in industry. The NPDE:VT provides these educators with the opportunity of becoming fully qualified professionals (REQV 13) by opening up an alternate access route for further education and development. The NPDE:VT has a strong classroom focus and equips educators with the foundational, practical and reflexive competences required for further study at NQF Level 6. It also builds on the experiences and preliminary professional training that the under-qualified educators may have had.
Between 2007 and 2008, 2000 students were registered for the NPDE:VT, from Majuba, Mthashana, Elangeni, Umgungundlovu, Ethekwini and Coastal FET colleges in KwaZulu-Natal. The NPDE:VT is growing and needs support, as it caters for a growing sub-sector of education in KwaZulu-Natal.
