STAFF PAPER FOR
THE PARLIAMENTARY PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON DEFENCE ON THE MILITARY ACADEMY
Reference A: The Constitution of the RSA , 1996 (No
108 of 1996).
B: SAQA Act, 1995 (No 58 of 1995).DOD
Philosophy for Education, Training and Development
C: Code of Conduct for the Public Service
Government Gazette R5497 Chapter M
D: Agreement between the University of
Stellenbosch and the Military Academy (as Amended)
E: Yearbook of the University of
Stellenbosch Part 14: Faculty Military
Science
F: Joint Training Implementation
Instruction on the Management of the Military Academy: Trg No 9/2001
G: Military Academy Homepage: www.sun.ac.za/mil
Appendix A: Organogram
B: Student Demography since 1994
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND
1. The
DOD may be requested to provide any relevant information on the Department’s
function to the parliamentary committees on defence. As part of the Portfolio Committee’s programme for 2001, the
Military Academy is now required to make such a submission on the unit’s
business.
2. This
staff paper is therefore prepared as the written presentation for the said
committee, where it will serve as the foundation of a verbal briefing by the
Commandant Military Academy on 06 November 2001.
HISTORY
3. The
Military Academy was established on 1 April 1950 under the auspices of the
University of Pretoria and as a branch of the SA Military College (now SA Army
College), Voortrekkerhoogte (now Thaba Tshwane). The purpose of the establishment was to place the education of
Permanent Force cadets on Baccalareus level.
In addition to education, the cadets were also subject to military
training by the SA Military College. In
1953 the Military Academy was moved to Saldanha, where the Academy enjoys the
patronage of the University of Stellenbosch.
The purpose of the move was to facilitate the participation of Naval
learners[1]
in the Academy’s programmes in order to enhance jointness among the Services.
4. The
headquarters of the Military Academy moved to Saldanha in December 1957, where
the first second- and third-year learners reported in February 1958. In January 1961, the Academy became a
fully-fledged faculty of the University of Stellenbosch, as the Faculty of Military
Science. Although the Academy had to
adapt to prevailing demands a number of times, these are no longer sufficient
to accommodate the post-1994 realities.
To remain viable in a changing DOD the management of the Academy
required transformation, the essence of which is contained in this staff
paper.
AIM
5. The
aim of this staff paper is to provide an overview of the Military Academy’s
current business.
SCOPE
6. The
staff paper will commence by describing the Military Academy’s mandate and core
business and thereafter providing an outline of the unit’s outputs and annual
throughput. Some attention will be
given to the factors that address quality assurance and the systems of
evaluation, after which the paper will conclude with a selection of issues to
be encountered in the near future.
UNIT
RAISON D’ ETRE
MANDATE
7. The
Military Academy acquires its mandate from a number of statutory prescriptions,
commencing with the general provisions of the Constitution (Reference A) and
ending with the specific DOD instruction dealing with its management (Reference
F). The latter instruction gave
execution to the objectives as stated in the First Report of the ETD Project
Team of the DOD. The instruction aims
to regulate the functioning of the Military Academy as an institution for joint
Education, Training and Development in the DOD, which includes:
a. The delineation of the command, control
and support functions governing the management of the Academy.
b. The integration of the
Academy into the DOD’s joint ETD system, as summarised in DOD Philosophy for
Education, Training and Development (Reference B).
c. The provision of guidelines to services
and divisions, and other clients of the Military Academy, as to sub-par b. above,
and
d. the furnishing of the Military Academy
with the required legal and ethical foundation for its effective and efficient
management.
8. As
both an academic institution of higher education and a joint, military training
unit, the Academy has had to forfeit the luxury of producing and disseminating
knowledge as self-contained activities.
While educating the corps of officer-learners enrolled in residential
programmes, the Military Academy is obliged to balance the tension between the (sometimes
divergent) demands of higher education and military competence. In the past the Academy shared one of the
characteristics of universities, in that it was relatively isolated and
autonomous from its clients. Since the
advent of the 21st Century these features are beginning to change. As the demands of society are being felt in
the academic and defence environments outside the Military Academy, new
imperatives necessitate a constant re-assessment of the institution’s relevancy
in the DOD. The defined core business
of universities is evolving and the Academy finds itself having to play a
greater role in the delivery of life-long learning and the development of a
civic culture among its graduates. At
the same time the Academy is functioning in a niche market, having to provide a
service to a specialist client (the DOD) and being influenced by a different
set of factors compared to other providers of higher education.
9. This
means that the Military Academy’s learning outcomes, especially those of
residential programmes, cannot be of an intellectual nature only. The outcomes of the institution’s military
training programmes must be balanced among the cognitive, affective and
psychomotor domains. Military competence,
for instance, can be considered as a universal phenomenon, to be achieved
mainly at a cognitive level through military training and relevant,
contextualised academic study. The
officer’s obligation towards society, on the other hand, should be based on the
belief (at an affective level) that military force is shaped by the state and
that its employment should be for the benefit of the broader community, rather
than for individuals or groups within society.
10. As
in other defence forces of repute, the corporate spirit of the DOD’s corps of
officers is founded in its combined competence and its shared social
responsibility. Its ethos (or
organisational culture) regulates the behaviour of the officers and is in turn
supported by a construct of regulations, customs and traditions. In the affirmation of this particular professional
ethos the Academy therefore differs from other institutions of higher learning,
necessitating measures specifically designed to support and develop the
corporate spirit of the DOD. The
Military Academy’s structure[2]
was therefore designed to effect military professional development in all of
the ETD domains:
DEVELOPMENTAL
FOCUS
MILITARY
ACADEMY CORE BUSINESS
11. The
Aim of the Military Academy. The
aim of the Military Academy is to develop the military professional competencies
of personnel, designated by the DOD, by providing education, development and
training programmes that are integrated and contextual. This aim is derived from the following:
a. The Vision of the Military Academy. The Military Academy is a renowned
institution of the South African Department of Defence that strives for academic excellence in military professional
development. It is directed towards the
development of the military professional competencies of personnel,
designated by the DOD, by providing education, development and training
programmes that are integrated and contextual.
b. The Mission of the
Military Academy. The Military Academy
fills the need for contextualised academic programmes at a certificate,
diploma, graduate and post-graduate level, to clients within the DOD and
foreign defence forces, through technologically supported residential- and
distance education. It provides
for the continued, joint formative training of residential learners and
facilitates their continued functional training at their respective functional
training units. The Military Academy
will, in addition to its core functions, provide research products to the
DOD. It will support the department by
the provisioning of professional and academic services, as contracted between
the Academy and its clients within the DOD.
It is also uniquely positioned to, through the University’s Community
Service (the agency), provide social developmental assistance to local civilian
communities.
12. Functions. Derived from the aim above, the Military
Academy is mandated to conduct a variety of specific functions in the
attainment of departmental objectives.
These functions are:
a. The academic development of designated
personnel by presenting the following programmes, for which appropriate
qualifications must be awarded:
i. Preparatory Certificate in Military
Studies (PCMS) at NQF level 4/5, through a residential course of one academic
semester (6 months) – optional.
ii. Certificate in Military Studies (CMS)
at NQF level 5, through either a residential course of one (1) academic year,
or through distance education of not exceeding two (2) consecutive calendar
years.
iii. Diploma in Military Studies (DMS) at
NQF level 5, through either a residential course of not exceeding two (2)
consecutive academic years, or through distance education of not exceeding four
(4) consecutive calendar years.
iv. Bachelor’s Degree in Military Science (B
Mil) at NQF level 6, through either a residential course of not exceeding three
(3) consecutive academic years, or through distance education of not exceeding
six (6) consecutive calendar years.
v. Post-graduate Degrees in Military
Studies at NQF levels 7 to 8, through residential or modular courses of varying
duration.
b. The Military Academy must provide for
the continued joint formative training of residential learners and facilitate
their continued functional training at their respective Services’/Divisions’
training units. Irrespective of the
academic qualification achieved, learners participating in residential
programmes must
i. be instilled with the appropriate
military ethos, as expressed in the SANDF’s Code of Conduct (Reference C);
ii. remain proficient in conducting
regimental/divisional duties, characteristic of their respective Services’
military units;
iii. be assisted in the development of
general psychomotor skills, physical fitness and the maintenance of a healthy
lifestyle, and
iv. upon graduation, have advanced to the
greatest extent possible in attaining the competencies required for a person of
his/her rank and mustering as per applicable post profile in the relevant
Service.
c. The Military Academy must, subject to
the development of suitable media, processes and systems, provide designated
personnel with the opportunity to acquire all of the above qualifications,
barring the PCMS, through distance education.
d. The Military Academy must continually provide research
products to the DOD.
e. The Military Academy should provide
professional and academic services to the DOD, as contracted between the
Academy (the service provider) and DOD services/divisions (the clients).
f. The Military Academy may, through the
University’s Community Service (the agency), provide social assistance to
civilian communities.
PRODUCTION
13. Outputs. The Military Academy’s deliverables have
always been the number of military officers trained to specification. As a service provider to the DOD, the
Academy’s output is therefore rendered in the domain of Education, Training and
Development (ETD) and it is consequently structured to conduct its activities
as an institution of higher education[3]. A realistic summary of the unit’s potential
output per year could therefore be illustrated as follows:
|
S No |
Core Objectives |
Outputs |
|
|
a |
b |
|
1 |
To provide contextualised military professional
development programmes |
i. 210 Undergraduate learners
ETD to specification ii. 40 Learners on PCMS ETD to
specification iii. 20 Post-graduate learners ETD to
specification |
|
2 |
To provide research products |
Policy advice and decision support |
|
3 |
To provide community services |
Human and organisational development |
14. Throughput. Turning to the number of officers that have
passed through the institution since 1994, it becomes evident the Military Academy
is experiencing a reduced throughput.
This is mainly due to a decreasing intake of freshmen on undergraduate
programmes. On the other hand, it is
experiencing an oversupply of candidates for the Preparatory Certificate for
Military Studies and an acceptable number of candidates for post-graduate
programmes. The numbers on these
programmes are, however, limited by the availability of training capacity (in
the case of the PCMS) and by employment commitments (in the case of
post-graduate programmes). Looking at
the illustration of the throughput below, the following facts must be noted:
a. Figures (barring PCMS Courses) are
based on annual complement of residential learners as at the beginning of each
academic year - that is, before the unsuccessful learners were withdrawn from
studies.
b. PCMS courses commenced in the second
semester of 2000 only. Two of these
courses are conducted annually since, with qualifications awarded at the end of
each course.
c. Undergraduate programmes
are usually conducted over a period of three years, implying that about 30% of
the year’s total number of undergraduate learners acquired their first degrees
at the end of any particular year.
d. Post-graduate programmes (especially
the residential programmes) have been exceptionally successful, with almost
every candidate acquiring the appropriate qualification within the minimum time
allowed.
SCOPE OF
PROGRAMMES
15. Academic
Education Programmes. Programmes
are conducted under the supervision of the Faculty of Military Science
(Appendix A), which provides for three broad directions of study: War and Society, Military Management and
Technology. These are grouped into the
following undergraduate programmes:
a. War, Environment and Technology and
b. Security and Africa Studies (derived
from War and Society).
c. Human and Organisational Development
and
d. Organisation and
Resource Management (both derived from Military Management).
e. Technology and Management and
f. Technology.
Postgraduate academic programmes that are based on
undergraduate programmes with broader or narrower areas of specialisation are
offered, in most cases up to MMil level.
In future, selected academic programmes will be offered through the
medium of distance education.
16. Military
Training Programmes. Programmes are
conducted under the supervision of the Section Military Development (Appendix
A). The Military Academy contributes
towards the continued formative training and the functional military training
of residential undergraduate learners, with the aim of ensuring that the
officers qualified at the institution are able to fulfil their role as military
practitioners on completion of their period of study. To this end it conducts programmes that facilitate
a. the development of officers’ military
professional competencies. This is done
by conducting an integrated professional development programme at the Academy
and by facilitating officers’ participation in the functional courses presented
at other DOD training units. These
objectives will apply to learners on the residential undergraduate programmes
only and will exclude the PCMS and postgraduate programmes.
b. The Academy also maintains a military
environment conducive to officers’ academic study and military professional
development. This goal applies to all residential
undergraduate learners and is achieved by
i. maintaining a regimented military unit
routine;
ii. conducting physical training, sport
and recreation programmes typical of the military;
iii. conducting leadership- and adventure
training exercises, and
iv. appointing, guiding and supervising
officers in leadership positions on learners’ management organisations.
c. The Academy creates opportunities for
officers to cultivate a balanced lifestyle, complementary to the military
ethos. This goal applies to all
residential undergraduate learners and is achieved by creating and supporting
opportunities for constructive recreational and cultural activities.
17. Leadership
Development. The Military Academy
has constituted a learner management organisation (the Military Academy
Students Council [MASC]) from the residential learner body. The MASC is chaired by an elected learner,
the Student Captain, and is allocated the responsibility to regulate
undergraduate learner affairs in terms of its Constitution. A Course Committee is, in a similar vein,
elected for each residential undergraduate programme presented at the Military
Academy. Each Course Committee is
represented on the MASC and is be responsible for the management of the
particular programme’s learner affairs.
The learners in leadership positions are rotated annually, to give
exposure to as many officers as possible.
In addition to their routine responsibilities, the learners in the various
portfolios (sport, study, social, etc) are burdened with the management of
official activities on the training programme.
In combination, these activities assist in the development of leadership
skills.
QUALITY
ASSURANCE
ACADEMIC
EDUCATION
18.
Teaching/Learning Process. Quality
assurance with respect to the learning and teaching interaction focuses on
student feedback about the effectiveness of the facilitation of the learning
process and the quality of the course content.
Both aspects are evaluated by means of a standard questionnaire that is
processed by UNI-ED of the University of Stellenbosch.
19.
Departmental Standards. The
external evaluation of academic departments is another quality control measure that
is prescribed by the University of Stellenbosch. This entails an inspection of various aspects of the department
by a panel of academics from other tertiary institutions. The evaluation covers the following aspects:
a. Staff provision.
b. Research and academic expertise.
c. Teaching programme.
d. Service rendering to students.
e. Available infrastructure.
f. Organisational functioning.
g. General academic stature.
20. Academic
Programmes. The coherence and
relevance of academic programmes will in future (from 2002) be further assured
by the introduction of programme advising committees, which will be comprised
of appointed academics and relevant stakeholders from the DOD. These committees will serve to advise the
Faculty about the relevance of its programmes and will provide a platform for
the exchange of information about research opportunities and opportunities for
service rendering, while at the same time serving to market the institution and
its graduates.
21. Student
Performance. All students are, of
course, regularly evaluated on their mastery of the respective academic
programmes in terms of the University of Stellenbosch’s regulations. Qualifications are only awarded when
prescribed standards had been met. For
those students on service-specific contracts (such as pupil-pilots) additional
performance measures, such as a higher pass mark for aeronautical science, may
apply.
MILITARY TRAINING
22. Military
Weeks. Each of the Military Weeks
(of which there are three per year) is designed to be a component of the integrated
military professional development programme. The learner groups on some of the Military Weeks are evaluated
formally in terms of written- and practical examinations (marked X below)
and by means of peer group ratings on others (marked X). They are evaluated informally by observation on the remainder
(marked X), where possible. During 2001 the following activities were
conducted during the Military Weeks:
|
Activity |
PCMS Courses |
MA 03 (1st Year) |
MA 02 (2nd Year) |
MA 01 (3rd Year) |
|||||||
|
Jan |
Sep |
Dec |
Jan |
Sep |
Dec |
Jan |
Sep |
Dec |
Jan |
Sep |
|
|
Induction |
X |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Vacation
Leave |
|
X |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Horsemanship/Sailing |
|
|
|
X |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sailing/Horsemanship |
|
|
|
|
X |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Adventure
Trg: Sea |
|
|
|
|
|
|
X |
|
|
|
|
|
Adventure
Trg: Land |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
X |
|
|
|
|
Leadership
Progr |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
X |
|
|
Adventure
Trg Exps |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
X |
|
Ex
Trans Enduro |
|
|
|
|
|
X |
|
|
X |
|
|
23. Continuous
Evaluation. Military Instructors (one
MI for each of the four programmes above) continuously monitor the development of
undergraduate learners. The instructors
report their observations and other incidents that have a bearing on the
learners’ leadership development, discipline and general conduct. At the end of learners’ periods of study, these
confidential reports are attached to the final reports on each learner’s academic
performance.
24. Functional
Training. During the midyear recess
of five weeks, the majority of learners attend functional courses at their
respective Services’ training institutions.
While conducting these courses they are subject to the usual SANDF
evaluation- and quality control measures.
ISSUES ON THE HORIZON
25. Consolidation. At a work session during 1999, a number of
strategic issues were identified. While
all of them received attention since, a number of the issues were adequately
addressed and are now being consolidated.
They are:
a. Academic Education. The Faculty of Military Science’s processes,
structures, programme contents, grouping and sequence of the higher education sub-system
were transformed, in line with the requirements of the Act on Higher Education,
the SAQA and the DIDTETA. These
programmes are now running and are continuously being fine-tuned.
b. Military Training. The Section Military Development’s processes,
structures, programme contents, grouping and sequence of the military training
sub-system at the Academy were adapted and is functioning well.
c. Community Service. The staff and learners of the Military Academy
have revised the processes, structures, contents, grouping and sequence of the internal-
and external community service rendered by the Military Academy. Service is presently being rendered at a satisfactory
level, but remain under constant review.
26. Present
and Future Focus. The following
issues require more work and will remain a challenge for some time to come:
a. General Support Systems. The unit is revising the processes and structures
of the support services sub-system at the Academy. These include the resident management-, human resources-, logistic-,
intelligence- and financial support structures as well as the systemic
interactions with the GSB. Improvement must
be effected in:
i. Organisational Efficiency. Identifying unnecessary and cumbersome
procedures and the duplication of organisational structures so that remedial
action can be undertaken and organisational efficiency achieved.
ii. Cost Effectiveness. Analysing the Military Academy system in
terms of the expenditure on the achievement of each objective in relation to
its importance for the mission of the Military Academy.
b. Research Output. Improving the current levels of research
output generated by the Faculty of Military Science. Since the unit is under-staffed in terms of lecturers at present,
the academic personnel (including the Centre for Military Studies) has had very
little opportunity to increase their output in this domain.
c. Representivity. Influencing the policies and processes
guiding the recruitment and selection of learners and staff, to attract
suitable candidates that are representative of the racial and gender
composition of the RSA population and of the Services of the SANDF[4]. The staffing process presently being
conducted has provided a window of opportunity, which is being utilised fully
by the institution.
d. Marketing. Developing and maintaining plans to promote
the image and awareness of the Military Academy within the SANDF, the tertiary education
sector, the RSA in general and the SADC.
Accessibility of the institution must be improved through the
implementation of a distance learning system, for which funds have now been
released. The project will eventually
open the Academy’s opportunities for higher education to all personnel of the
DOD who meet the academic selection criteria.
27. Hard
Issues. The Military Academy is
attempting to come to grips with some concrete issues that affect its viability
directly. Some of these are:
a. The slashing of the Academy’s operating
budget for FY 2001/2002 by more than 50%.
Although additional funds have been awarded since (for library books,
the distance education project and allowances, for instance) the unit’s ability
to maintain the teaching and learning platform (computers, printing,
stationery, travelling for research and selection boards, etc) is straining
under the restrictions.
b. Allied to the issue above is the question
of the maintenance of facilities and infrastructure. With the DPW withdrawing by the middle of 2002 and the facilities
already in need of a major overhaul (the old main accommodation block and the
facilities on Malgaskop already being declared unfit for habitation, for
instance) the unit is not very optimistic that its appearance will improve
soon. Considering its attempts to
improve its exposure and accessibility, it may just be promising the environment
for military professional development that it cannot deliver upon.
c. The Military Academy is attempting to
improve customer satisfaction by identifying its clients’ needs and moving to
satisfy them to a greater extent than ever before. It has already established an agreement with the SAAF and is providing
the full ground school phase during pupil pilots’ first year at the Academy. Constant communication with the SA Navy (with
reference to navigation and nautical science) and the SAMHS (with reference to
industrial psychology) may soon lead to the establishment of agreements in
these specialist fields as well. As the
SANDF moves forward with the registering of some of its functional courses
(such as the Joint Senior Command and Staff Programme), it is expected that the
Military Academy will play a pivotal role in the validation and accreditation
of these courses with the SAQA.
28. Soft
Issues. The Military Academy may be
relatively isolated geographically, but it is still subject to the same
national- and organisational environment as other military units. Being squarely placed in the domain of
higher education, it needs to accommodate international and constitutional
imperatives in this environment as well.
Among the more immediate issues of this nature are the following:
a. Health Status. Although it is not possible to determine the
extent of the challenge, it is expected that learners will show an increased
incidence of HIV/AIDS. Adding to the
issue is the fact that single-sex residences have been abandoned for a number
of years now, which could exacerbate the occurrence of behaviour that put
learners at risk. During the past year,
for instance, the Military Academy has experienced a sudden and dramatic
increase in the number of reported pregnancies among its learners (from 1 in
1999, to 0 in 2000 and then to 6 in 2001), all of them out of wedlock. Fortunately, policy was in place to facilitate
the temporary withdrawal and expected return of the affected women. The Academy is attempting to deal with this issue
by educating its learner body, but has difficulty in addressing the core of the
problem – different value systems, arising from the diversity of cultures represented.
b. Retention. Research has indicated that learners at the
Academy have, in the last decade, moved from an institutional to a careerist motivation
in furthering their studies. With the transformation
of the SANDF being hampered by the lack of approved establishment tables,
cumbersome staffing processes, decreasing operational capabilities, perceptions
of inadequate remuneration and a host of other hygiene issues, the learners may
also not necessarily have a very positive impression of their career opportunities. The graduates are finding that their services
are in relatively high demand in the private sector, even in a depressed
economy. Allied to the international
trend of job-hopping, the Academy is seriously concerned with morale,
motivation and eventually retention of its graduates. It is addressing this issue as best as it
can, but realises that it has little control over the environment within which
it functions.
CONCLUSION
29. The
Military Academy has been producing officers for the defence of the RSA for
more than half a century. It is a
well-established institution for contextualised higher education and is
equipped with the training facilities, programmes and structures to improve the
competency and expertise within the DOD.
While it cannot be said to have ever produced officers in sufficient
numbers to make a real difference, this in no way implies that the concept of a
Military Academy is flawed. For a
variety of reasons, the defence force has simply never resorted to recruiting
and training all (or even the majority) of its general-duty officers with the
eye on acquiring a higher education. The Military Academy is therefore under-utilised in terms of its
potential.
30. At
present the Academy is facing a number of challenges, most of which are not
unique to the Military Academy as an institution of higher learning or as a
military unit. Realising the potential
value of its product to the DOD, it is adapting to changes in the external environment
as best it can, while at the same time adopting a visionary approach in
transforming its current business. It
anticipates that, should the support it requires be forthcoming, it could become
a vital element within the DOD’ strategy on ETD and, indeed, the Department’s
contribution to the Millennium Africa Plan.
(COL
G.M.LOUW)
COMMANDANT
MILITARY ACADEMY: BRIG GEN
October 2001