News just reaching us now is that there is an update on the discontinuation of the Nated Engineering Course (N1- N3).
After careful consideration DHET has decided to discontinue the intake of the Engineering N1 – N3 qualification. All TVET colleges will not be enrolling N1 Engineering as from January 2023. Students currently enrolled in N1 will be given the opportunity to complete N2 and N3 during 2023.
Let’s not forget, in a statement released by the DHET on July 19, 2022, the department stated that as part of the Departments efforts to align Technical and Vocational Educations and Training (TVET) curricula with the needs of the rapidly changing economy, there are various activities and programmes that the Department is currently embarking on. One of those activities is the phase out of NATED Report 191 N1-N3 programmes. In September 2021, the Minister of Higher Education and Training approved the phase out of the remaining NATED Report 191 N1 – N3 programmes and the establishment of the NATED N1 –N3 Phase Out Task Team (NPOTT). This approval came after a process of consultation with various stakeholders including analysis of public comments which were sought through a Government Notice gazetted and published in November 2020.
Though the dates for the phasing out of the course have been proposed but its not yet finalized. The proposed dates and sequence include:
- N1, N2 and N3 programmes be phased out over the next three academic years namely 2021, 2022 and 2023.
- From 2022 no new N1, N2 and N3 students will be enrolled but examinations will still be offered for the remaining two years. This will give students that are in the pipeline more opportunities to complete the N1 – N3 qualification.
- The QCTO registered occupational qualifications in the relevant Engineering fields to be phased in TVET Colleges to replace the N1 – N3 programmes as from 2022.”
New dates for implementation of the phase out of NATE N1 – N3 programmes will be communicated as soon as the planning process is complete and the actual date is gazetted. TVET Colleges are encouraged to start considering scaling down enrolments on N1 – N3 programmes in preparation for the imminent phase out, as well as do so as part of reimagining their PQM towards being relevant and current.
