NYC - NYC Green Paper

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
National youth service provides a long-term and effective means of reconstructing South African society whilst simultaneously developing the abilities of young people through service and learning. Reconstruction includes the physical rehabilitation and renovation of community resources, such as buildings and land, as well as providing the more intangible, but perhaps more critical, service of rebuilding communities. Reconstruction also includes the task of ensuring that young people have a valued and significant role to play within their communities and that they enjoy access to the opportunities they require to make a healthy transition to adulthood.
The National Youth Service is a structured entity proposed in this Green Paper. It will be established by government to provide various types of support to a wide diversity of youth service programmes operating within the framework of service, learning and development according to agreed values, principles and criteria, as defined in this Green Paper.
The document is divided into two sections, the last section provides strategic information on available opportunities in government programmes, an outline of existing and potential institutional capacity and a review of relevant policy trends.
Chapter One - Introduction
Chapter One provides policy background to the initiative of the National Youth Service and relates the Green Paper to existing complementary government policies and programmes. It briefly sketches the context related to the situation of youth within the broader development challenge of the country and presents the four key target groups that are central to the design of the proposed policy framework.
South Africa=s population is predominantly young. Seventy two per cent of the total population is under 35 while 39% of the population is aged between 14 and 35, the national definition of youth. A brief overview of the education, which also examines the relationship between education and employment, indicates that 28% of all youth in South Africa have achieved only some level of primary school education or less and that there are significant variations according to race. There is also a strong relationship between educational level attained and the desire to continue with education.
Although education and unemployment are inter-related, poor education is not the only reason for the high levels of youth unemployment. For example, young women experience higher rates of unemployment than young men across all race groups. Unemployment has profound social and psychological effects on young people and, given that this is likely to have a long-term impact on South Africa=s overall development, it points to the need for programmes addressing issues of employment to do so in a comprehensive and integrated manner.
Little data is available on how many young people are involved in the judicial and prison systems. What is known is that increasing numbers of young people are coming into conflict with the law and do not have access to programmes that can adequately rehabilitate them into society.
Chapter Two - Conceptual Framework
Chapter Two provides the conceptual framework for the National Youth Service. It sets out a vision for national youth service, formulates four key objectives and articulates a statement of values which should inform the development of national youth service programmes in South Africa. Four international models of national youth service are briefly described, following which the chapter locates the concept of service in the South African context, relating it to national development objectives and government initiatives such as special employment programmes and learnerships.
The chapter recommends that a National Youth Service be established to create an enabling environment for all youth service initiatives which aim to benefit communities and are in line with national development objectives. The National Youth Service would have the responsibility of providing financial, capacity building, administrative and coordinative support for specific initiatives which meet the criteria described in Chapter Six. Primary beneficiaries of national youth service are defined as communities, and disadvantaged communities in particular, and young people participating in the service programmes. A secondary beneficiary, but one which is equally important, is the labour market and the broad economy which will benefit from the skills, responsibility and civic values developed in the course of well-structured national youth service programmes.
In order to ensure that programmes yield benefit to participants and to the recipients of service, it is recommended that a mixed approach be adopted initially towards participation in a National Youth Service. This means that it may be compulsory for some target groups to participate (eg. as part of their study requirement), while in the case of other target groups, voluntary participation may be most effective.
Six operating principles for the National Youth Service are defined. The are: service learning, sustainable development, the need for incentives in order to ensure that the families of participants do not suffer financial hardship, accredited learning, criteria for the selection of community sites for service, and the development of a culture of self-reliance. Finally, the chapter articulates some assumptions that inform the design of the National Youth Service and could affect its impact.
Chapter Three - Programmes and Incentives
This chapter examines the programmes that would broadly fall within the National Youth Service. It distinguishes between programmes that will be accredited by the National Youth Service and those which are not likely to be accredited, and proposes a number of criteria that could inform this prioritisation. Among the criteria are those which concern programme components, those which relate to the nature of the service and those which concern the duration of the service programme.
The chapter outlines what form the accredited programmes may take for each target group. It suggests that the emphasis of individual programmes will thus differ, depending on the nature of the programmes and the needs of the target group. The programme elements described in this Green Paper are not intended to be prescriptive, but illustrate how programmes can be designed for the different target groups and how they meet the criteria in each case.
The analysis assumes that, besides the accredited programmes, there are likely to be a wide range of other youth programmes in operation which are important in several respects, but which will not be considered to be accredited National Youth Service programmes.
The chapter explores incentives for participants in terms of the possible benefits which would accrue to participants and communities from National Youth Service programmes and concludes by outlining a process by means of which the discussion about youth service programmes could be taken forward.
Chapter Four - Institutional Arrangements for National Youth Service
The chapter contains recommendations for the establishment of a National Youth Service Agency that will provide overall co-ordination as well as provide for direct programmatic involvement by the provincial and local co-ordination agencies, and proposes a range of functions for each of these.
It is envisaged that a broad range of agencies, corporations and institutions will implement national youth service programmes in ways which are designed to reach key target groups identified and to meet their service learning objectives. The planning, funding and implementation of programmes should take place through the joint efforts of government, non-governmental organisations, the private sector, and organisations in the youth sector.
Given the cross-cutting nature of the national youth service programmes, the National Youth Commission and the Office of the President will be responsible for initiating and overseeing the establishment of the National Youth Service, including putting in place the required institutional arrangements. Various governments departments will play a defined role in programme design, accreditation, and implementation and it is recommended that all sections of government involved in development programmes should be reoriented to incorporate youth service programmes within their institutional arrangements and action plans.
Chapter Five - Funding and Resourcing the National Youth Service
This chapter puts forward some broad conceptual issues about the question of funding and resources for the National Youth Service. It points out that the South African government presently has five priorities in terms of the national budget: meeting basic needs, investment in infrastructure, developing human resources, sustained economic growth and job creation, and ensuring safety and security. The principles and programmes of the National Youth Service proposed in this document have been developed in a manner which is consistent with these priorities. The chapter suggests that the funding of National Youth Service programmes will therefore be accorded the same priority as the funding of the five national development priorities cited above. The programme conception will need to be costed during the pilot phase.
The chapter then looks at the resources that could be available from within government, the private sector, non-governmental organisations and international donors. It briefly outlines the experience of national youth service programmes in other countries and raises four issues in regard to devising a resourcing strategy for national youth service. Finally, the chapter recommends principles and strategies to guide the resourcing of the South African National Youth Service. The recommendations in this chapter relate closely to the recommendations made on programmes and incentives in Chapter Six and institutional arrangements in Chapter Eight.
Chapter Six - Next Steps in Establishing the National Youth Service
This chapter outlines a programmatic implementation strategy that will be pursued parallel to the policy and legislative process that follows this Green Paper.
The National Youth Commission will facilitate the implementation of proposals in the Green Paper over a period of three years. In order to lay the ground for the launch of the National Youth Service in the year 2000, a limited number of projects will be implemented in 1999 to put in place the medium-term institutional arrangements. Parallel to this initiative, the Youth Commission will conclude the Green Paper process by developing a White Paper and related legislation by October 1999. Following the launch of the National Youth Service Agency and the National Youth Service Programme in the year 2000, a two-year development programme will be pursued and evaluated at the end 2001, leading to medium-term consolidation.
Pilot project activities include securing broad stakeholder participation and establishing an interim coordination structure for the implementation and evaluation of the pilot projects. The Interim structure will also develop a medium-term financial plan based on costing models derived from pilot and related activities, and building an awareness of the need for a national youth service and its benefits to communities, young people and the economy.
The chapter concludes with a set of recommendations that point to the immediate steps that need to be undertaken in order to lay the foundations for the National Youth Service. These will include the introduction of short-term initiatives while laying the groundwork for ensuring that the youth service can go to scale. The recommendations are intended to ensure that the unemployed youth target group will immediately benefit from this programme, while other target groups will benefit once the recommended processes have been concluded. It is the intention of the National Youth Commission that 1999 be a year in which young people start becoming effectively involved in service whilst simultaneously accessing learning opportunities.
Chapter Seven - Opportunities for Youth Service in Government Programmes
This chapter provides a broad overview of the initiatives and programmes that are currently being undertaken by government and which provide opportunities for service by young people. They include infrastructural programmes (such as those undertaken in regard to electrification, the provision of telephones, transport and housing), special employment programmes (undertaken in sectors such as public works, water, land, and the environment), municipal infrastructure programmes, and projects launched by the Department of Trade and Industry.
The chapter also outlines the social services programmes that have been developed by the Departments of Welfare, Health and Education and the initiatives launched by the Department of Justice in regard to the transformation of the judicial system. In all of these programmes, youth are already a specific target group and the National Youth Service is one of the mechanisms through which the programme objectives could be met. The South African National Defence Force Service Corps is the only example of a programme that was explicitly established as a service programme.
Preparations for the Jobs Summit have included a number of proposals targeting young people and these could be critical to the success of the National Youth Service. Two types of programmes being proposed include the establishment of youth brigades for unemployed young people and young people out of school, and student service, a proposal which still needs refinement. This Green Paper provides an initiative in which these proposals, and others, could be located and suggests that the National Youth Commission would need to be integral to the work of the steering committee responsible for planning the youth programmes. The chapter recommends that where possible, the existing management structures of these programmes could provide support to the delivery of national youth service components within the programmes.
Chapter Eight - Interface between National Youth Service and Human Resources Development Policies
This chapter examines the relationship between the National Youth Service and a range of policies that are central to the transformation and development of the education and training system. It establishes that the policy reforms currently being put in place are specifically designed to meet the needs of those young people who are targeted to form part of national youth service programmes.
The chapter identifies the National Qualifications Framework as critical to the ability of the National Youth Service to deliver effective education and training programmes to the target groups identified. Although the qualifications are still in the process of being designed, the development of standards and quality assurance structures are important because they will enable the National Youth Service to provide participants with education and training programmes which are accredited and receive national recognition.
The proposals contained in the Skills Bill are of particular importance to the National Youth Service. The Bill recognises the need for the provision of education and training to young people that are out of work and out of school; it emphasises the importance of linking learning with practical experience; it requires that education and training must be accredited and provides for structures that will be able to play this quality assurance role; and finally it provides a funding mechanism for such programmes. Although there are some important distinctions between learning through service and the learnership system, the chapter suggests that in providing opportunities for service learning, the National Youth Service compliments the learnership strategy.
Both the Further Education and Training Bill and the White Paper on Higher Education contain elements which are supportive of the orientation of the National Youth Service since both open up the possibility of integrating service into the curricula of learning institutions in which many of the potential youth service participants are located. The chapter recommends that the National Youth Service work in conjunction with the recommendations of the multi-year implementation plan for Adult Basic Education and Training so as to incorporate adult basic education and training provision in national youth service programmes as is required to meet the needs of the target groups.
Chapter Nine - Situation Analysis of the Capacity Available to the National Youth Service
Currently, in South Africa only the non-governmental sector has experience in delivering youth service programmes. A range of non-governmental organisations have developed programmes that engage young people in service as a method of providing youth development opportunities, but to date the experience gained by these organisations has not been tapped in any formal way. Non-governmental and community-based organisations operating in the youth sector have the capacity to assist the National Youth Service with curriculum and materials development, programme design and programme staff training, as well as provide access to young people and assist with recruitment and programme delivery.
Most youth work in South Africa presently takes place on a voluntary basis and while this indicates that wide acceptance of a culture of voluntarism and service already exists among young people, it does raise a number of issues which require careful consideration. These include the varying range of standards in programme and service delivery, the need for support materials, and the strategic question of how to stimulate organisations so that their operations become more sustainable.
The chapter outlines the nature of provision in the higher education and further education and training sectors. It suggests that the Department of Education=s review of the funding formulae in the higher education sector provides an opportunity to examine the option of supporting service as an integral component of curriculum reform, where this is appropriate to the objectives of the learning programmes concerned. Similarly, the opportunity exists in the further education and training policy environment for the National Youth Service to influence the transformation of this sector.