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SOUTH AFRICAN QUALIFICATIONS AUTHORITY 
REGISTERED QUALIFICATION: 

Postgraduate Diploma in African Studies 
SAQA QUAL ID QUALIFICATION TITLE
111320  Postgraduate Diploma in African Studies 
ORIGINATOR
University of Venda 
PRIMARY OR DELEGATED QUALITY ASSURANCE FUNCTIONARY NQF SUB-FRAMEWORK
-   HEQSF - Higher Education Qualifications Sub-framework 
QUALIFICATION TYPE FIELD SUBFIELD
Postgraduate Diploma  Field 07 - Human and Social Studies  Traditions, History and Legacies 
ABET BAND MINIMUM CREDITS PRE-2009 NQF LEVEL NQF LEVEL QUAL CLASS
Undefined  120  Not Applicable  NQF Level 08  Regular-Provider-ELOAC 
REGISTRATION STATUS SAQA DECISION NUMBER REGISTRATION START DATE REGISTRATION END DATE
Reregistered  EXCO 0423/24  2018-07-01  2027-06-30 
LAST DATE FOR ENROLMENT LAST DATE FOR ACHIEVEMENT
2028-06-30   2031-06-30  

In all of the tables in this document, both the pre-2009 NQF Level and the NQF Level is shown. In the text (purpose statements, qualification rules, etc), any references to NQF Levels are to the pre-2009 levels unless specifically stated otherwise.  

This qualification replaces: 
Qual ID Qualification Title Pre-2009 NQF Level NQF Level Min Credits Replacement Status
17345  Postgraduate Diploma in African Studies  Level 7  NQF Level 08  120  Complete 

PURPOSE AND RATIONALE OF THE QUALIFICATION 
The purpose of the qualification is to provide an intensive year of multidisciplinary studies focused on different aspects of the study of this continent. It also provide the learners with Postgraduate level knowledge and understanding about Africa that integrates Indigenous and Imported Systems of knowledge and skills for dealing with issues in modern life. Social institutions, the sciences, the arts, sports and games of and in Africa shall be surveyed, analysed and examined in both their historical and spatial contexts.

Rationale:
The qualification aims to equip the learner with the skills that will enable him/her to serve the national community at large better as Teachers, Nurses, Doctors, Psychiatrists and Priests, Chiefs and Judges, Policemen and Police Women, extension workers in health and agriculture, tour guides and operators, museum and heritage curators. The qualification aims to provide learners from disadvantaged backgrounds, who have shown promise in becoming future Postgraduates, with training in reading primary and secondary research sources and also web based material, with the purpose of equipping them to continue with their studies. 

LEARNING ASSUMED TO BE IN PLACE AND RECOGNITION OF PRIOR LEARNING 
Entry Requirements:
The minimum entry requirements for this qualification is:
  • Bachelor of Arts or an Advanced Diploma with a major in History; Archaeology; Anthropology; Museology/Museum Studies, National Qualifications Framework (NQF) Level 7. 
    		•

    RECOGNISE PREVIOUS LEARNING? 
    Y 

    QUALIFICATION RULES 
    Qualification Rules:
    This qualification comprises of compulsory and elective modules at National Qualifications Framework (NQF) Level 8 totalling 130 Credits.

    Compulsory Modules, Level 8, 78 Credits:
  • Causes of European Migration, Nature of their Settlement, Colonisation and Dispossession of Africa, 13 Credits.
  • Women and Men's Roles in the Family: Kingship Structure and Ubuntu, 13 Credits.
  • Indigenous, Scientific and Technological Principles, Productions and Products, 13 Credits.
  • Men and Women's Participation in Communal and Individual Economic Activities then and now, 13 Credits.
  • Women and Men as Priests, Diviners, Healers, Medicine People and Curers, 13 Credits.
  • Nature of Kingship in Ancient Egypt, The Great Lakes Region and Southern Africa, 13 Credits.

    Elective Modules, Level 8, (Choose 4) 52 Credits:
  • An elective from any department related to African Studies or has vocational relevance, 13 Credits.
  • Historical and Cultural Heritage Holdings and Sites and Touristic Attractions of Southern Africa, 13 Credits.
  • Dance and Dances, Music and Musicians, Songs and Song Stars among Southern African Communities, 13 Credits.
  • Any elective from any department that is related to African Studies, 13 Credits.
  • Rock and Wall Paintings: Ethnic Handcrafts in Southern Africa, 13 Credits.
  • Gendered Indigenous Education, Rites of Passage, Games and Sports, Personal Social Maturation, 13 Credits. 
    		•

    EXIT LEVEL OUTCOMES 
    1. Acquire an informed and integrated knowledge of African indigenous and modern culture.
    2. Awareness of African contributions to world civilisations will be demonstrated.
    3. Demonstrated the consciousness of the impact and consequences of the encounters between the African and external world.
    4. Demonstrate an understanding of imperialism, colonisation, racism and apartheid. 

    ASSOCIATED ASSESSMENT CRITERIA 
    Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 1:
  • Know the importance of forming an informed self-image as an African.
  • Impart and adopt a Pan African sense of being.
  • Ensure students understand Africa in a historical perspective.
  • Knowledge of a consciousness of African traditions in their historical perspectives.

    Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 2:
  • Unique features of the African heritage in their homogeneity and heterogeneity.
  • Self-critical attitudes towards the African heritage.
  • Holistic understanding of the nature of African civilisations.
  • Introduce students to philosophical concepts and practices of Africans such as Ubuntu.

    Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 3:
  • Military expeditions and external/internal migration.
  • Relate how the military superiority of the invading Europeans helped in the subjugation of the African, his conversion to Christianity, and loss of freedom.
  • Learn the value of painstaking search for "influences" and "survivals" (or absence of them) as far as ancient Egypt and other parts are concerned.

    Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 4:
  • Explain the rise of Islam, its forceful spread in North and Northeast Africa.
  • Military expeditions and external/ internal migration.
  • Relate how the military superiority of the invading Europeans helped in the subjugation of the African, his conversion to Christianity, and loss of freedom.
  • Learn the value of painstaking search for "influences" and "survivals" (or absence of them) as far as ancient Egypt and other parts are concerned.

    Integrated Assessment:
    Integrated Continuous Assessment, project essay, written and oral examinations. At the end of the qualification, learners will produce a research project in which they will have to demonstrate that they have learnt, the skills and the material required by the qualification. Specifically, learners produce a long essay in the form of a take-home examination, including web-based elements and they will have the opportunity of submitting a paper. Learners may have the opportunity of collaborating on research projects with learners from other institutions, in Africa and abroad. 
    		•

    INTERNATIONAL COMPARABILITY 
    There are similar qualifications offered in the United Kingdom in Birmingham University. The qualification provides the learners with necessary training to undertake a broad-based, multidisciplinary study of contemporary Africa and the external world. It also deals with cutting-edge debates of relevance to advanced learners, irrespective of the regions of the continent or the disciplines that interest those most. It also departs from key debates in Africa and other continents and questions the power, authority and identity of a people. As it explores how African Studies represent the less powerful 'other', the qualification pays attention to both empirical realities shaped by power differentials (example: race, gender, wage labour, globalisation, sexuality) and also the conceptual frameworks employed by researchers (example: resistance, language, hope, fantasy).

    The qualification is also offered in Nigeria, the University of Ibadan. It is similar to ours because the modules that are offered in the qualification speaks to being and African and Africanism. At the university of Ibadan the qualification establishes a chronological framework through the sessions that deal with the reasons for and responses to colonisation, the changing nature of the colonial state, and the emergence and success of anti-colonial nationalist movements. It identifies elements of continuity into the second half of the twentieth century. Labour migration, urbanisation, increased demand for formal education, and changing marital and family relationships were seen as 'problems' by both Colonial and Postcolonial Governments.

    This qualification was designed after observing what is offered in these countries so that the qualification will be nationally relevant and internationally comparable. The qualification deals with cutting-edge debates of relevance to advanced learners of Africa, irrespective of the regions of the continent or the disciplines that interest them most. 

    ARTICULATION OPTIONS 
    This qualification allows for vertical and horizontal articulation options:

    Vertical Articulation:
  • Master of Arts in African Studies, Level 9.

    Horizontal Articulation:
  • Bachelor of Arts Honours in African Studies, Level 8.
  • Postgraduate Diploma in Public Policy and African Studies, Level 8. 
    		•

    MODERATION OPTIONS 
    N/A 

    CRITERIA FOR THE REGISTRATION OF ASSESSORS 
    N/A 

    NOTES 
    N/A 

    LEARNING PROGRAMMES RECORDED AGAINST THIS QUALIFICATION: 
    When qualifications are replaced, some (but not all) of their learning programmes are moved to the replacement qualifications. If a learning programme appears to be missing from here, please check the replaced qualification.
     
    NONE 


    PROVIDERS CURRENTLY ACCREDITED TO OFFER THIS QUALIFICATION: 
    This information shows the current accreditations (i.e. those not past their accreditation end dates), and is the most complete record available to SAQA as of today. Some Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionaries have a lag in their recording systems for provider accreditation, in turn leading to a lag in notifying SAQA of all the providers that they have accredited to offer qualifications and unit standards, as well as any extensions to accreditation end dates. The relevant Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionary should be notified if a record appears to be missing from here.
     
    NONE 


    All qualifications and part qualifications registered on the National Qualifications Framework are public property. Thus the only payment that can be made for them is for service and reproduction. It is illegal to sell this material for profit. If the material is reproduced or quoted, the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) should be acknowledged as the source.