Umalusi CEO Dr Mafu Rakometsi says the exco (executive committee) of the Association for Educational Assessment in Africa (AEAA) is satisfied with the progress made in preparation for the hosting of the 40th AEAA Annual Conference in August.
The CEO was delivering remarks on Friday at a media briefing on the state of readiness for the hosting of the conference.
State of readiness
“Earlier today, Umalusi presented a report to the exco detailing progress made to date. [We also presented] the tasks that still need to be undertaken. These are for the successful hosting of the 40th AEAA annual conference. I can confidently report that the exco of the AEAA is satisfied with the progress made,” Rakometsi said.
Umalusi is preparing to host the AEAA annual conference from August 19 – 23, 2024. It will be held at the Century City Conference Centre and Hotel in Cape Town. The conference will be held under the theme: “Reimagining educational assessment in the age of multiple dimensions of learning in a global society”.
Best practices in educational assessment
The AEAA plays a crucial role in facilitating member institutions to uphold best practices in educational assessment.
Rakometsi said that they hosted the 21st AEAA conference back in 2003 in Cape Town. This was during the formative years of Umalusi. He said they feel privileged and honoured that the exco decided to bring back the conference to South Africa, 21 years later.
The CEO said this is a special birthday present for Umalusi. This was because the 40th AEAA conference is taking place just after the body celebrated two decades of existence.
Delegates from around the world
“… It is anticipated that the conference will attract upwards of 300 delegates. They will include assessment specialists, university academics and scholars. Also educationists, and policy makers from the African continent, Australia. Same from Europe, the UK and the US.
“This will provide us with an invaluable opportunity to discuss and debate various issues. These are issues of mutual interest for Umalusi and other education systems. The programme will be done within the context of complex and unequal educational contexts,” the CEO said.
Call for support for conference
Rakometsi called on Umalusi partners in South Africa to support the conference. They can to do so by making it possible for the relevant officials to put together abstracts and papers. These will be for the consideration of the organising committee. He extended the same call to its partners in the continent and globally.
The partners include:
- The Department of Basic Education (DBE),
- Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET),
- Independent Examinations Board,
- South African Comprehensive Assessment Institute (SACAI),
- Independent Schooling Sector,
- Private Further Education and Training Colleges and Adult Education and Training Colleges.
“In terms of its format, the main conference will be preceded by a workshop on assessment-related topic to build capacity amongst assessment practitioners. There will be ample opportunity for interested organisations to exhibit their services and products. These will be exhibited to the approximately 300 conference participants,” the CEO said.
Partnerships
During the media briefing, AEAA president, Dr David Njengere, appealed to all organisations involved in education and assessment. He called for those in Africa and across the world to support the conference in whatever way possible.
He emphasised that one of the success factors for the AEAA conferences is the support they get from business entities. This is by how they sponsor and exhibit their services and products to conference delegates.
“In this regard, we are calling on all interested entities to partner with Umalusi and showcase their products and services.
“Based on the report presented by Umalusi, the exco of the AEAA is satisfied with the progress made in preparation for the conference. We have no doubt that we are going to have a memorable conference in Cape Town in August this year,” he said. – SAnews.gov.za
