Requirements for admission to additional and higher education courses
☼ Types of qualifications ☼ Requirements for admission to additional courses : FET colleges
*Everything you need to know about FET colleges
An FET college is an institution that has registered with the Department of higher Education (DHET), in order
to provide vocational or occupational training in a specific field.
Should one wish to continue studying in a related field at a university, the college could have provided the
background education and training required for entrance.
*Background information about FET colleges
The education system in South Africa consists of three broad bands:
1. General education - first nine years of your school education.
*Difference between public and private FET colleges 2. Further Education and Training - final three years of schooling OR completing a related certificate or
Public FET colleges are created and operate under the authority diploma at a technical college or educational institution.
3. Higher education - university level studies, which are usually theoretical in nature.
of the Department of Higher Education. Each year public FET
colleges are subsidized by the state in the amount of roughly four
billion rand.
Adult Education and Training courses available (AET) - For adult students, who want to complete or achieve
their senior certificate. However these types of training are not vocational or occupationally skills based, which
means you have to study a set curriculum.
Under the prescriptions of chapter 6 of the Further Education and
Training colleges' act 16 of 2006, private colleges can register With FET colleges you can make sure you get the kind of education you need by selecting only the courses
with the department of higher education in order to offer and subjects you want.
accredited FET courses.
It is very important to always check on the accreditation status of
a college offering Further *Entrance requirements for FET colleges
*Industry fields supported by FET colleges Few entrance requirements because they aim to provide further education to as many people as possible.
These include (but are not limited to): FET training can only be completed by people over the age of sixteen.
- Agriculture - Business -Commerce This form of training is designed to provide the resources for students, to learn marketable skills in order to
progress in the field of their choice.
- Management - Education -Engineering
-Security -Services -Construction
☼ NSC subjects
Learners study at least 7 subjects - 4 compulsory and at least 3 electives.
All subjects are written on one grade only and are no longer written on Higher or Standard Grade
, *Type of courses FET colleges offer ☼ Minimum requirements for admission to study for higher certificate,
diploma or bachelor’s degree.
- Courses can range from a few hours to a full three year diploma. The courses offered at
FET colleges are tailored to meet the needs of the potential employer, which makes finding In order to qualify for a National Senior Certificate, a learner must achieve:
the specific course you need in your field much easier.
- A minimum rating of 40% or more, in 3 subjects. One of the 3 subjects must
- These decisions help you choose a course that may fill the specific gap in your training, be an official language at Home Language level.
rather than forcing you to complete a whole qualification, some of which you may already
have training in. - A minimum rating of 30% or more, in 3 other subjects.
*Complete a course at a FET college through correspondence or distance learning Entry Requirements:
- With a distance learning FET institution, like College SA distance learning could provide the Higher Certificate level:
training you need, irrespective of where you are in the country. This means that you have - Pass the NSC
more freedom to study what you want to study and you can stay employed while you study.
- Meet the language requirement for further study at a South African institution.
- Studying through supported distance learning has its pro’s and con’s. In order to make this
process easier, find out about the services the college offers to help you study.
Diploma level:
☼ Admission point score (APS)
Pass the NSC as follows:
The APS system gives possible points for the marks that you get in your NSC examinations.
- One official language at home language level at 40%
Admission to higher learning institutions depends on the total number of points you obtain.
- 3 other subjects at 40%; 2 subjects at 30%
- Meet the language requirement for further study at a South African institution
The key difference between qualifying for entry to diploma study rather than higher
certificate study is that the learner must achieve 40% or more in 4 subjects (incl. the
official language at home language level) rather than just 3 subjects.
Bachelor Degree level:
Pass the NSC as follows:
- One official language at home language level at 40% or more
- 4 subjects from the designated list of subjects at 50% or more
- 2 subjects at a minimum of 30%
- Meet the language requirement for further study at a South African institution,
☼ Types of qualifications ☼ Requirements for admission to additional courses : FET colleges
*Everything you need to know about FET colleges
An FET college is an institution that has registered with the Department of higher Education (DHET), in order
to provide vocational or occupational training in a specific field.
Should one wish to continue studying in a related field at a university, the college could have provided the
background education and training required for entrance.
*Background information about FET colleges
The education system in South Africa consists of three broad bands:
1. General education - first nine years of your school education.
*Difference between public and private FET colleges 2. Further Education and Training - final three years of schooling OR completing a related certificate or
Public FET colleges are created and operate under the authority diploma at a technical college or educational institution.
3. Higher education - university level studies, which are usually theoretical in nature.
of the Department of Higher Education. Each year public FET
colleges are subsidized by the state in the amount of roughly four
billion rand.
Adult Education and Training courses available (AET) - For adult students, who want to complete or achieve
their senior certificate. However these types of training are not vocational or occupationally skills based, which
means you have to study a set curriculum.
Under the prescriptions of chapter 6 of the Further Education and
Training colleges' act 16 of 2006, private colleges can register With FET colleges you can make sure you get the kind of education you need by selecting only the courses
with the department of higher education in order to offer and subjects you want.
accredited FET courses.
It is very important to always check on the accreditation status of
a college offering Further *Entrance requirements for FET colleges
*Industry fields supported by FET colleges Few entrance requirements because they aim to provide further education to as many people as possible.
These include (but are not limited to): FET training can only be completed by people over the age of sixteen.
- Agriculture - Business -Commerce This form of training is designed to provide the resources for students, to learn marketable skills in order to
progress in the field of their choice.
- Management - Education -Engineering
-Security -Services -Construction
☼ NSC subjects
Learners study at least 7 subjects - 4 compulsory and at least 3 electives.
All subjects are written on one grade only and are no longer written on Higher or Standard Grade
, *Type of courses FET colleges offer ☼ Minimum requirements for admission to study for higher certificate,
diploma or bachelor’s degree.
- Courses can range from a few hours to a full three year diploma. The courses offered at
FET colleges are tailored to meet the needs of the potential employer, which makes finding In order to qualify for a National Senior Certificate, a learner must achieve:
the specific course you need in your field much easier.
- A minimum rating of 40% or more, in 3 subjects. One of the 3 subjects must
- These decisions help you choose a course that may fill the specific gap in your training, be an official language at Home Language level.
rather than forcing you to complete a whole qualification, some of which you may already
have training in. - A minimum rating of 30% or more, in 3 other subjects.
*Complete a course at a FET college through correspondence or distance learning Entry Requirements:
- With a distance learning FET institution, like College SA distance learning could provide the Higher Certificate level:
training you need, irrespective of where you are in the country. This means that you have - Pass the NSC
more freedom to study what you want to study and you can stay employed while you study.
- Meet the language requirement for further study at a South African institution.
- Studying through supported distance learning has its pro’s and con’s. In order to make this
process easier, find out about the services the college offers to help you study.
Diploma level:
☼ Admission point score (APS)
Pass the NSC as follows:
The APS system gives possible points for the marks that you get in your NSC examinations.
- One official language at home language level at 40%
Admission to higher learning institutions depends on the total number of points you obtain.
- 3 other subjects at 40%; 2 subjects at 30%
- Meet the language requirement for further study at a South African institution
The key difference between qualifying for entry to diploma study rather than higher
certificate study is that the learner must achieve 40% or more in 4 subjects (incl. the
official language at home language level) rather than just 3 subjects.
Bachelor Degree level:
Pass the NSC as follows:
- One official language at home language level at 40% or more
- 4 subjects from the designated list of subjects at 50% or more
- 2 subjects at a minimum of 30%
- Meet the language requirement for further study at a South African institution,
