Higher Education Act, 1997 (Act No. 101 of 1997)Chapter 1 : Definitions, Application and Determination of Policy1. Definitions |
In this Act, unless the context otherwise indicates—
means any person appointed to teach or to do research at a public higher education institution and any other employee designated as such by the council of that institution;
means any person who makes any application referred to in Chapter 7;
means a person registered in terms of section 37 of the Auditing Professions Act, 2005 (Act No. 26 of 2005)
[Definition substituted by section 1(a) of Notice No. 21, GG 40548, dated 17 January 2017]
means the Council on Higher Education established by section 4;
[Definition deleted by section 1(c) of Notice No. 21, GG 40548, dated 17 January 2017]
means the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996;
[Definition inserted by section 1(d) of Notice No. 21, GG 40548, dated 17 January 2017]
means the process of conversion as contemplated in section 20(1) in terms of which an identified higher education institution or subdivision, faculty, school, department, section or component of a public higher education institution or education institution becomes a juristic or new juristic person, as the case may be, on a date specified by the Minister in the notice contemplated in section 20(1);
[Definition inserted by section 1(d) of Notice No. 21, GG 40548, dated 17 January 2017]
means the governing body of a public higher education institution;
means the Department of Higher Education and Training;
[Definition amended by section 1(a) of Act No. 26 of 2010]
means the written communication from the Minister to the council of a higher education institution or the council of a national institute for higher education, as applicable, contemplated in section 42;
[Definition inserted by section 1(b) of Notice No. 21, GG 40548, dated 17 January 2017]
means the Director-General of the Department of Higher Education and Training;
[Definition amended by section 1(b) of Act No. 26 of 2010]
means any person employed at a public higher education institution;
means the council of a public higher education institution;
means a year commencing on the first day of April and ending on the thirty-first day of March of the following year;
means a person that—
| (a) | has the legal authority to provide higher education in its country of origin; |
| (b) | is registered or established as a juristic person in terms of a law of a foreign country; and |
| (c) | is entitled to be registered as an external company in terms of section 23 of the Companies Act, 2008 (Act No. 71 of 2008); |
[Definition substituted by section 1(e) of Notice 21, GG 40548, dated 17 January 2017]
means the highest grade in which education is provided by a school as defined in the South African Schools Act, 1996 (Act No. 84 of 1996);
[Definition deleted by section 1(f) of Notice No. 21, GG 40548, dated 17 January 2017]
means the sub-framework for higher education as contemplated in section 7(d) of the National Qualifications Framework Act;
[Definition inserted by section 1(g) of Notice No. 21, GG 40548, dated 17 January 2017]
means all learning programmes which must be registered in accordance with the provisions of the National Qualifications Framework Act, 2008 (Act No. 67 of 2008), as a qualification or part-qualification on the HEQSF, regardless of whether such programmes are in fact registered or not on the sub-framework;
[Definition substituted by section 1(h) of Notice No. 21, GG 40548, dated 17 January 2017]
means a higher education institution providing higher education, but with a limited scope and range of operations and which meets the criteria for recognition as a higher education college as prescribed by the Minister under section 69(d) and—
| (a) | established, merged, converted, deemed to have been established or declared as a public higher education college; or |
| (b) | registered as a private higher education college, |
in terms of this Act;
[Definition inserted by section 1(i) of Notice No. 21, GG 40548, dated 17 January 2017]
means any institution that provides higher education on a full-time, part-time or distance basis and which is—
| (a) | converted, merged, established or deemed to be established as a public higher education institution under this Act; or |
[Paragraph (a) substituted by section 1(j) of Notice No. 21, GG 40548, dated 17 January 2017]
| (b) | declared as a public higher education institution under this Act; or |
| (c) | registered or provisionally registered as a private higher education institution under this Act; |
means the policy on higher education—
| (a) | determined and published by the Minister in terms of section 3; and |
| (b) | referred to in section 7(b) of the National Qualifications Framework Act as the sub-framework for higher education; |
[Definition inserted by section 1 of Act No. 39 of 2008]
means the committee of the CHE established in terms of section 7(1);
means the process of incorporation as contemplated in section 21(1)(6) or 24 in terms of which an identified subdivision, faculty, school, department, section or component of a public higher education institution or education institution becomes part of another public higher education institution while the latter institution’s legal personality as contemplated in section 20(4) is not affected by the incorporation, and "an incorporated subdivision" has a similar meaning;
[Definition inserted by section 1 of Act No. 63 of 2002]
means the person appointed under section 44;
[Definition inserted by section 1(k) of Notice No. 21, GG 40548, dated 17 January 2017]
means the body contemplated in section 31;
means any rules made by the council of a public higher education institution under section 32;
means any statute made by the council of a public higher education institution under section 32;
means a person established as a juristic person in South Africa in terms of the Companies Act, 2008 (Act No. 71 of 2008];
[Definition substituted by section 1(l) of Notice No. 21, GG 40548, dated 17 January 2017]
means the process contemplated in section 23 in terms of which two or more public higher education institutions lose their status as juristic persons on the date that they are merged into a new juristic person as contemplated in section 20(4).
[Definition inserted by section 1 of Act No. 63 of 2002]
means the Minister of Higher Education and Training;
[Definition amended by section 1(c) of Act No. 26 of 2010]
means any institute for higher education established as a national institute for higher education in terms of Chapter 6A;
[Definition inserted by section 1(m) of Notice No. 21, GG 40548, dated 17 January 2017]
means the National Qualifications Framework contemplated in the National Qualifications Framework Act;
means the National Qualifications Framework Act, 2008;
[Definition inserted by section 1 of Act No. 39 of 2008]
means an organ of state as defined in section 239 of the Constitution;
means the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act, 2000 (Act No. 3 of 2000);
[Definition inserted by section 1(n) of Notice No. 21, GG 40548, dated 17 January 2017]
means prescribed by regulation;
means the chief executive and accounting officer of a public higher education institution, and includes a vice-chancellor and a rector;
means any institution registered or conditionally registered as a private higher education institution in terms of Chapter 7;
means the performing of any or all of the following functions—
| (a) | registering of students for higher education; |
| (b) | taking responsibility for the provision and delivery of a higher education curriculum; |
| (c) | assessing a student’s performance in a higher education programme; and |
| (d) | conferring a higher education qualification; |
[Definition inserted by section 1(p) of Notice No. 21, GG 40548, dated 17 January 2017]
means any higher education institution that is established, deemed to be established, converted or declared as a public higher education institution under this Act;
[Definition substituted by section 1(o) of Notice No. 21, GG 40548, dated 17 January 2017]
has the meaning assigned to it in section 1 of the National Qualifications Framework Act, 2008;
[Definition inserted by section 1 of Act No. 39 of 2008]
means the registrar referred to in section 50(1);
[Definition amended by section 1 of Act No. 55 of 1999]
in relation to any person, means—
| (a) | the spouse or partner of that person; |
| (b) | anybody related to that person or his or her spouse within the third degree of consanguinity or affinity; or |
| (c) | any adoptive child within the first degree of consanguinity; |
[Definition inserted by section 1(r) of Notice No. 21, GG 40548, dated 17 January 2017]
means the South African Qualifications Authority established by section 3 of the South African Qualifications Authority Act, 1995 (Act No. 58 of 1995);
means the body contemplated in section 28 and includes an academic board;
means a person's partner in a marriage—
| (a) | recognised as such in terms of the laws of the Republic or a foreign country; or |
| (b) | concluded in terms of religious rites; |
[Definition inserted by section 1(s) of Notice No. 21, GG 40548, dated 17 January 2017]
means any person registered as a student at a higher education institution;
[Definition deleted by section 1(t) of Notice No. 21, GG 40548, dated 17 January 2017]
includes the regulations made under this Act;
[Definition deleted by section 1(q) of Notice No. 21, GG 40548, dated 17 January 2017]
means a higher education institution providing higher education and with a scope and range of operations, including undergraduate and postgraduate higher education programmes, research and community engagement, which meets the criteria for recognition as a university as prescribed by the Minister under section 69(d) and—
| (a) | established, merged, converted, deemed to have been established or declared as a public university; or |
| (b) | registered as a private university, in terms of this Act; |
[Definition substituted by section 1(u) of Notice No. 21, GG 40548, dated 17 January 2017]
means a higher education institution providing higher education, but with a limited scope and range of operations and which meets the criteria for recognition as a university college as prescribed by the Minister under section 69(d) and—
| (a) | established, merged, converted, deemed to have been established or declared as a public university college; or |
| (b) | registered as a private university college, |
in terms of this Act;
[Definition substituted by section 1(v) of Notice No. 21, GG 40548, dated 17 January 2017]
includes a vice-rector and a deputy vice-chancellor.