Higher Education Institutions

In terms of the Pharmacy Act (53 of 1974, Section 3), the South African Pharmacy Council (SAPC) is responsible for establishing, developing, maintaining and controlling universally acceptable standards in pharmaceutical education and training. The SAPC (hereafter referred to as Council) implements the above responsibilities by developing scopes of practice and qualifications, accrediting providers and courses, quality assuring the delivery of the programmes and ensuring consistency and quality across programmes.

Higher education and training in the South African context fall within the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) [Government Gazette No 30353: The Higher Education Qualifications Framework (HEQF), Higher Education Act, 1997 (Act No. 101 of 1997)]. The specific levels in the framework which apply to pharmacy education and training are:

• Level 5: Higher Certificate in Pharmacy Support
• Level 6: Advanced Certificate in Pharmacy Technical Support
• Level 8: Bachelor of Pharmacy

Council’s main responsibility is to protect, promote and maintain the health, safety and wellbeing of members of the public. The implementation of this responsibility is aligned with the relevant regulations.

Council developed the Accreditation/monitoring visit instrument (accreditation/monitoring instrument [OQSF]). The standards set out in this document provide benchmarks to guide the development, implementation and quality assurance of programmes leading to higher education and training (HET) qualifications in pharmacy.