ISRRT_COVID-19_book

of examinations or procedures as listed in their log-books. Alternative training and
assessments had to be devised to address the gap. The need for clinical training software
became eminent. This was explored as an alternative to augment the clinical training to help
students meet the registration requirements with the health professions council.
Academic offering as registered with Council on Higher Education
As changes were introduced in the academic institutions, to facilitate the completion of the
academic year, the regulatory authorities also saw the need to revise their regulations.
Besides looking at the professional registration authorities, their requirements and possible
amendments to the promulgated regulations, there was also a need to look at how the
academic programs were registered with the Council on Higher Education (CHE) and the
South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA). Most health professions qualifications, like
Radiography, Nursing, Medicine etc. are registered as contact qualifications. The on-line
teaching and assessments, somehow presented themselves as if the qualifications were
offered at a distance. It was reassuring to see that the CHE relooked at the whole situation as
brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic and made provision to enable the students to
graduate and enter the professional working environment.
Changes in format of assessments.
As already mentioned, working on-line also impacted on the types and format of assessments
used in the different modules. Changes had to make in this regard to accommodate the
students and lecturers who were both new to the system of on-line assessments. The changes
that were made still remained under strict regulations and had to be documented. All these
were necessary to ensure the quality was not compromised and that the assessments remain
fair and just. This can further be related to the adaptation in the assessments and examination
policies. The 2015 uprising with “fees must fall” movement, got the higher education
institutions worried that they could not conduct end of the year examinations. This worry
resulted in the amendments being made on the assessments and examination policies to
accommodate on-line examinations. During this COVID-19 era, it was easy to look at the
amended policies and retrieve guidelines on how examinations and associated moderations
should be done.
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