ABET Adult basic education and training
ABET Act Adult Basic Education and Training Act, No. 52 of 2000
ANA Annual National Assessment
DBE Department of Basic Education
DHET Department of Higher Education and Training
DMA District management area
EC Eastern Cape
ECD Early childhood development
EFA Education For All
ELSEN Education for learners with special education needs
EMIS Education Management Information System
ESR Educator-school ratio
FET Further education and training
FETC Act Further Education and Training Colleges Act, No. 16 of 2006
FS Free State
GER Gross enrolment ratio
GET General education and training
GP Gauteng Province
GPI Gender parity index
Gr. R Grade R (reception year, or year prior to Grade 1)
HE Higher education
HEDCOM Heads of Education Departments Committee
KZN KwaZulu-Natal
LP Limpopo Province
LSR Learner-school ratio
MDGs Millennium Development Goals
MEC Member of the Executive Council
MP Mpumalanga
NC Northern Cape
NCS National Curriculum Statement
NSC National Senior Certificate
NW North West
PED Provincial education department
SA South Africa
SASA South African Schools Act, No. 84 of 1996
SGB School governing body
SNE Special needs education
WC Western Cape

 

Administrative staff-school ratio
The average number of administrative staff per school
Combined school
An ordinary school offering at least one grade in each of the following four phases: foundation phase, intermediate phase, senior phase and FET band.
District management area (DMA)
A municipal area which may include a nature reserve, a game reserve or a wildlife sanctuary.
ECD centre
Any building or premises maintained or used, whether or not for gain, for the admission, protection and temporary or partial care of more than six children away from their parents. Depending on the conditions of its registration, an ECD centre can admit babies, toddlers and/or children of pre-school age. The term “ECD centre” can refer to a crèche, a day care centre for young children, a playgroup, a pre-school, an after-school care facility, etc. ECD centres are sometimes referred to as ECD sites.
Education district/region
The geographic area within a PED that the MEC for Education has demarcated as the first-level administrative subdivision.
Educator
Any person who teaches, educates or trains other persons or who provides professional education services.
Educator-school ratio (ESR)
The average number of educators per school.
FET band
Grades 10 to 12 offered at ordinary schools.
Foundation phase
Grade R (reception year) and Grades 1 to 3 offered at ordinary schools.
Further education and training (FET)
All learning and training programmes leading to qualifications from Levels 2 to 4 of the NQF as contemplated in the NQF
Act, which levels are above general education but below higher education.
Funding type
The funding sector to which the educational institution belongs, for example independent and public
Gender parity index (GPI)
The ratio of female to male values of a given indicator.
General education and training (GET)
All programmes leading to a qualification on Level 1 of the NQF. It represents nine years of schooling – that is, from Grades 1 to 9 as well as ABET Levels 1 to 4.
Gross enrolment ratio (GER)
The number of learners or students enrolled in a given level of education, regardless of age, expressed as a percentage of the population in the theoretical age group for the same level of education.
Independent school
A school registered or deemed to be registered in terms of section 46 of the SASA.
Indicator
A measure designed to assess the performance of a system, policy, programme or project.
Intermediate phase
Grades 4 to 6 offered at ordinary schools.
Intermediate school
An ordinary school offering both upper primary grades and lower secondary grades.
Learner
Any person receiving education or obliged to receive education in terms of the SASA.
Learner-administrative staff ratio (LER)
The average number of learners per administrative staff
Learner-educator ratio (LER)
The average number of learners per educator at a specific level of education in a given school year.
Learner-school ratio (LSR)
The average number of learners per school.
Ordinary school
A school that is not a special school.
Post-matric
Any other classes offered to learners that have completed matric (Grade 12).
Primary disability
The predominant impairment of a learner or the area in which the functional limitation is most severe.
Primary school
An ordinary school offering at least one grade in the range Grades R to 7, and no grades in the range Grades 8 to 12.
Public school
A school as defined in section 1 of the SASA.
School
An education institution which enrols learners in one or more grades from Grade R (reception) to Grade 12.
Secondary school
An ordinary school offering at least one grade in the range Grades 8 to 12, and no grades in the range Grades 1 to 7.
Senior phase
Grades 7 to 9 offered at ordinary schools.
Special needs education (SNE)
Education that is specialised in its nature and addresses barriers to learning and development experienced by learners
with special education needs (including those with disabilities) at special as well as ordinary schools.
Special school
A school resourced to deliver education to learners requiring high-intensity education and other support on either a
full-time or a part-time basis. The learners who attend these schools include those who have physical, intellectual or
sensory disabilities or serious behaviour and/or emotional problems, and those who are in conflict with the law or whose
health-care needs are complex.