VerifiedLeft School Early? There Is a Third College System Almost Nobody Mentions.
Ask anyone to name South Africa’s post-school institutions and you get universities and TVET colleges.
There is a third system, built specifically for the adults and out-of-school youth that neither of the others serves: Community Education and Training colleges.
This guide covers what they are, how they differ from TVET colleges, which qualifications you can get, and what the completion numbers really say.
What Are CET Colleges?
They were created by the National Policy on Community Colleges, determined under section 41B(4) of the Continuing Education and Training Act of 2006 and published as Notice 569 in Government Gazette No. 38924 on 3 July 2015.
The policy is direct about who they are for: youth and adults who never finished their schooling, and specifically those who have passed the age of compulsory education.
Colleges must offer programmes driven by community developmental priorities as well as state priorities, developing both soft and hard skills to improve livelihoods.
How Are They Different From TVET Colleges?
This is the distinction that matters when you decide where to apply.
- CET college — organised around people who have not finished school, and around the communities they live in
- TVET college — organised around vocational qualifications for people who have at least Grade 9 or a school-leaving certificate
Pick the wrong one and you will be turned away at the entry requirement, not at the door.
How Many CET Colleges Are There?
Nine nationally, roughly one per province.
But they are administrative institutions, not campuses you drive to. The teaching happens at community learning centres attached to them.
There were 2 795 public adult learning centres in the system when the Department last reported that figure in 2016, most operating out of school buildings after hours.
In practice:
Your nearest centre is probably a school a few streets away, running classes in the late afternoon or evening.
The Department has also set up nine digital learning platforms across the colleges so course content can be shared online, which helps if you cannot attend every week.
Which Qualifications Can You Get?
The policy names three formal qualifications:
- The General Education and Training Certificate for Adults, at NQF Level 1, equivalent to finishing the compulsory schooling phase
- The Senior Certificate, the adult school-leaving qualification
- The National Senior Certificate for Adults
The first carries most of the system’s weight. The adult GETC at Level 4 made up 44% of all enrolments across the colleges in 2020.
It also unlocks the school-leaving route, because an adult GETC is one of the recognised entry requirements for registering to write the Senior Certificate.
So a learner who left in Grade 8 has a two-step path, not no path:
the GETC first, the Senior Certificate after it.
What Skills Programmes Do They Offer?
Formal qualifications are only part of it. The policy provides for programmes delivered with local authorities, SETAs, community organisations, other departments and industry.
The list it gives is long and practical:
- Early Childhood Development
- Plumbing, construction, carpentry, electrical work, welding and auto body repair
- Motor mechanics
- Home-based care, parenting and childcare
- The Community Health Workers Programme, including HIV and Aids education
- Worker education, cooperatives and entrepreneurship training
- Information and communication technology, arts and crafts
Non-formal offerings run on a needs basis, tied to local employment opportunities, so two centres in different provinces may offer quite different things.
Be aware:
Some of these programmes do not lead to a qualification or part-qualification at all, and the policy says so plainly. Ask any centre for its current programme list rather than assuming it matches the policy.
Several of those trades connect to funded routes elsewhere. If a short course confirms the work suits you, the step up is an apprenticeship or a college qualification, and there is dedicated funding for trades such as welding.
Who Pays for CET Programmes?
The policy splits funding in two.
- Programmes driven and funded by the State
- Programmes answering immediate community needs, funded from other sources named in the Act
Because the second category varies by centre and partner, confirm costs with the centre itself before you enrol. Do not assume every programme on offer is state-funded.
How Many Students Actually Complete?
It would be dishonest to present this system as thriving.
- Enrolment was 142 538 students in 2020, a 16.8% drop on the previous year
- The White Paper target is one million enrolments by 2030
- 10 535 students completed the adult GETC at Level 4 in 2023, a completion rate of 39.2%
- That is down from 61.1% in 2021 and 57.9% in 2020
- Women made up 70.9% of enrolments against 29.1% men in 2020
So the system runs at a small fraction of its intended scale, and fewer than four students in ten finish.
What should you take from that?
Not that the qualification is worthless. It is the same nationally certificated qualification wherever completion rates sit.
But a four-in-ten rate tells you the support around you will be thin. The students who finish are the ones who treat attendance as non-negotiable and ask the centre about examination registration deadlines early.
Who Should Start at a CET College?
Go to a community learning centre if:
- You did not reach Grade 9, because the adult GETC gets you to the starting line for everything else
- You need a school-leaving certificate and want to write it through the state rather than pay a private college
- You want a short practical skills programme close to home without committing to a full qualification
Look at a TVET college instead if you already hold Grade 9 or a school-leaving certificate, because that system is built for you and carries the bursary funding to match.
Read the founding policy yourself, free: the National Policy on Community Colleges. The figures come from the Department’s post-school statistics.
CET College FAQs
How is a CET college different from a TVET college?
A CET college serves youth and adults who did not complete schooling. A TVET college delivers vocational qualifications to students who already hold at least Grade 9.
How many CET colleges are there?
Nine.
They are administrative bodies, and classes happen at community learning centres linked to them.
What qualification would I get?
The adult GETC at NQF Level 1, the Senior Certificate, or the National Senior Certificate for Adults. The adult GETC accounts for the largest share of enrolments.
Do they only teach academic subjects?
No. Centres also run trades, early childhood development, home-based care, community health work, ICT and entrepreneurship programmes with SETAs and municipalities.
Is the adult GETC enough for a TVET college?
It is the recognised adult equivalent of completing compulsory schooling and is accepted as an entry route for the Senior Certificate. TVET requirements vary by programme, so confirm with the college.
Your First Three Steps
- Find the community learning centre nearest you and ask which centre your province’s CET college runs there
- Ask for the current programme list and the costs, in writing if you can
- Ask about examination registration deadlines on the day you enrol, not later
If you would rather start a course while you decide, see courses you can study without matric.