How will SAQA establish coherence in each of the twelve organizing fields of the NQF?
One of the functions of the National Standards Bodies (NSBs) is to ensure coherence in and across its organizing field. It is also, however, incumbent upon SAQA staff (specifically, the Deputy Director of Standards Setting and the Assistant Director of the particular NSB) and, to an extent, SGBs to achieve coherence across the field. In other words, notwithstanding the NSBs responsibility for defining the boundaries of the field for which it is constituted and a framework of sub-fields guiding the recognition and/or establishment of SGBs (RSA, 1998b), the establishment of coherence is a collaborative venture. In carrying out their functions NSBs would be expected to flag areas where coherence is necessary across fields and the need to create cross-references between NSBs. Coherence is achieved, moreover, in the context of minimum duplication. The application of the principle of “maximum coherence, minimum duplication” in the formation of SGBs occurs in relation to two parameters: sub-f
