HISTORY AND EVOLUTION OF ARCHITECTURAL EDUCATION IN SOUTH AFRICA
5.3. The transformation of the architectural profession in South Africa
5.3.2. The validation of architectural programmes in South Africa
143 | P a g e and knowledge areas. For, example, the architect is required to have the highest possible level of competence in each of the skills and knowledge areas, while the technologist may have varying degrees of competence and certainly less so in items 1, 5 and 6 of the table. Hence, the level of design ability in the built environment is directly related to the level of qualification.
As registered persons are expected to have the required level of skill and knowledge in order to perform in an ethical and professional manner, SACAP has to monitor and evaluate the standards of qualifications at architectural learning sites (ALSs) - a quality control measure. The primary quality assurance mechanism of architectural education at ALSs is the SACAP validation process.
144 | P a g e acceptable, reciprocal revision of the CAA/SACAP Validation Agreement was signed in 2012 (www.sacapsa.com/action/media/Accessed: 18 June 2013).
SACAP has since, further considered the possibilities of gaining global recognition of South African architectural qualifications and therefore applied for membership of the Canberra Accord, to which the CAA is a signatory. SACAP is currently a provisional signatory, awaiting full signatory status pending the outcome of the September 2016 visit by the Canberra Accord. This could result in the mutual global recognition of South African architectural qualifications with the current members of the Canberra Accord, namely the USA, Canada, Mexico, China, Korea and Australia.
The functions and purpose of the Canberra Accord is succinctly captured on its website and reads as follows:
Signed in April 2008, the Canberra Accord is a document by seven accreditation/validation agencies in architectural education. The Canberra Accord is intended to facilitate the portability of educational credentials between the countries whose accreditation/validation agencies signed the Accord. It does not address matters related to professional registration or licensure (http://www.canberraaccord.org/Accessed: 16 June 2013).
SACAP aims to extend the benefits offered by the Canberra Accord to other collaborating schools, ALSs, voluntary associations and registering authorities through the creation of reciprocal regional agreements via its ‘Africa Outreach Project’. At the CBE Indaba in March 2013, the Minister of Public Works, Mr T Nxesi, emphasised that the various built environment professions in South Africa should start collaborating with other African counterparts especially in sub-Saharan Africa.
International portability of South African and African architectural qualifications is a complex process, and in order to facilitate this, the establishment of relationships with sub-Saharan African countries, therefore, became the sensible first objective of SACAP’s ‘Africa Outreach Project’.
This implied that the needs of regional systems had to be considered in addition to the quality assurance of the professions, through international benchmarking. The first SACAP validation visit to Namibia is scheduled for 2017.
145 | P a g e SACAP’s Africa Outreach Project, which was launched in 2012, is defined by three principal considerations:
First; historical commonalities occurred over the whole southern and eastern Africa and events reverberated throughout the region, even in pre-colonial times. Second; the region includes the geo-political clustering of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and common professional practice, education and research agendas seem both meaningful and mutually beneficial. And third; not only is there is a significant number of students from neighbouring countries studying at South African architectural learning sites, but an increasing number seem to be eager to find employment in South Africa, while South African architects are increasingly involved with projects in other African countries(www.sacapsa.com/action/media/).
SACAP is considering expanding its network through collaboration with other sub-Saharan African countries, meaning that collaborating countries need to share competence in broadly common design, technological and administrative procedures. However, at the same time that these commonalities are necessary, each country is marked by individual ethics, social and environmental responsibilities. The possibility of engagement with sub-Saharan countries via SACAP’s ‘Africa Outreach Project’ could see South African trained architectural professionals applying their professional competence across the borders, especially in the SADC nations. At the same time students and practitioners from those countries could find opportunities in South Africa.
This cross-pollination of skills can only increase the quality of architecture responsive to the respective contexts, as practitioners may apply acquired skills that may not be prevalent within their own contexts in order to resolve architectural and built environment problems in their respective countries.
The alignment with international validation standards and the establishment of the SACAP validation system via the Africa Outreach programme, together with the transformation of the professional legislative frameworks as governed by SACAP, has resulted in implications on the standard levels and quality of education at all ALSs, particularly the universities of technology.
The real impact of this is that the academic curricula and pedagogic approaches of the former technikon based programmes, which have to change in order to include a greater level of design
146 | P a g e thinking, scientific and technological competencies in the graduates. The reality, as confirmed in interviews with the various heads of the ALSs, is that there has not been any intense collaborative discussion amongst all the heads of the ALSs in order to develop an appropriate strategy moving forward. In an interview with the SACAP Registrar, O’Reilly (2014), SACAP felt it necessary to facilitate such discussions with regard to the new professional and educational frameworks within which the practice and training of architectural professionals is situated.
5.3.3. The impact of national imperatives on the architectural profession in South Africa