TPF2601/101/0/2023

Tutorial Letter 101/0/2023

Teaching Practice 1
TPF2601

Year module

Department of Early Childhood Education

This tutorial letter contains important information about your module.

BARCODE
 CONTENTS
Page

1 INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................................... 3
2 PURPOSE AND OUTCOMES ..................................................................................................... 3
2.1 Purpose....................................................................................................................................... 3
2.2 Outcomes..................................................................................................................................... 4
3 CURRICULUM TRANSFORMATION .......................................................................................... 6
4 LECTURER AND CONTACT DETAILS....................................................................................... 6
4.1 Lecturer ........................................................................................................................................ 6
4.2 Department .................................................................................................................................. 6
4.3 University ..................................................................................................................................... 7
5 RESOURCES .............................................................................................................................. 7
5.1 Prescribed books ......................................................................................................................... 7
5.2 Recommended books .................................................................................................................. 7
5.3 Electronic reserves (e-reserves)................................................................................................... 7
CAPS for Foundation Phase - Department of Basic Education ................................................................ 7
6 STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES ............................................................................................... 8
6.1 The Unisa First-Year Experience Programme .............................................................................. 9
7 STUDY PLAN .............................................................................................................................. 9
8. PRACTICAL WORK AND WORK-INTEGRATED LEARNING ...................................................10
8.1 School placements....................................................................................................................10
Teaching Practice Placement Office ...................................................................................................10
8.2 Duration of teaching practice ...................................................................................................10
9 ASSESSMENT ...........................................................................................................................11
9.1 Assessment criteria .....................................................................................................................11
9.2 Assessment plan .........................................................................................................................11
9.3 Assessment due dates ................................................................................................................12
9.4 Submission of assessments ........................................................................................................12
9.5 The assessments ........................................................................................................................13
9.6 The examination..........................................................................................................................13
10 ACADEMIC DISHONESTY .........................................................................................................14
10.1 Plagiarism ...................................................................................................................................14
10.2 Cheating......................................................................................................................................14
11 STUDENTS LIVING WITH DISABILITIES ..................................................................................14
12 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS .........................................................................................14
13 SOURCES CONSULTED ...........................................................................................................14
14 IN CLOSING ...............................................................................................................................14
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 TPF2601/101/0/2023

Dear Student

1 INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the teaching practice component of your professional development. Teaching practice
is the core of our teacher education programmes and we will do our best to make your teaching
practice experience interesting, rewarding and successful. Please start arrangements early in the
year and complete the assessments properly. The mode of delivery for this module is blended.
This means you will have printed material as well as material and activities which are uploaded on
the module site for online teaching experiences. Unisa is an open distance e-learning (ODeL)
institution and you are expected to have internet access in order to participate in the online
activities.

2 PURPOSE AND OUTCOMES

2.1 Purpose

This module, TPF2601, is an essential part of the Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programmes.
This teaching practice is now the culmination of everything you have studied and need to put in
practice. It is a work-integrated learning module set out as follows:

PRACTICAL APPLICATION
TPF2601 – Five weeks of school based practical teaching experience in the Foundation
Phase divided as follows:

• 2 weeks (10 consecutive days) in Grade R

• 1 week (5 consecutive days) in Grade 1
• 1 week (5 consecutive days) in Grade 2
• 1 week (5 consecutive days in Grade 3
This means a total of five (5) weeks.

NB: You will be required to submit the following compulsory assessments:

• Assessment 01 – Exam admission
• Assessment 02
• Assessment 50 - e-Portfolio
• Assessment 51 - e-Portfolio

You will be required to submit two assessments (Assessments 1 and 2) and two portfolios
(Assessments 50 and 51) for this Teaching Practice module.

The Teaching Practice module forms part of a series of learning situations for prospective teachers
in which they are systematically confronted with, or have the opportunity to carry out, teaching and
classroom management activities under the supervision of experienced teachers and mentors.

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The purpose of this module is to give you the opportunity to become acquainted with formal
teaching in a practical school situation and to apply the theoretical knowledge you have gained
in all the modules of this programme. This module therefore focuses on the practical application of
the various teaching and learning strategies of the theoretical modules.

Unisa follows a school-based initial teacher education model. According to this model, partner
schools and higher education institutions (HEIs) are jointly responsible for the planning and
management of programmes, and the training and assessment of student teachers. Schools have
the responsibility to train student teachers to teach their subjects and learning areas, to assess
learners and to manage classes. Schools are also required to supervise student teachers and
assess their competence. HEIs have the responsibility to ensure that programmes meet the
requirements for academic validation, to present programmes for accreditation, and to award
qualifications to successful student teachers.

According to the Minimum Requirements for Teacher Education Qualifications (2018), practical
learning is associated with the acquisition, integration and application of knowledge for teaching
purposes. This document further explains that “work-integrated learning (WIL) takes place in the
workplace and can include aspects of learning from practice (e.g. observing and reflecting on
lessons taught by others), as well as learning in practice (e.g. preparing, teaching and reflecting on
lessons presented by oneself). Practical learning is an important condition for the development of
tacit knowledge, which is an essential component of learning to teach”.

This module builds on all the modules in your BEd programme as well as on Teaching Practice I
where the focus is on the school-based observation. It provides guidelines for a five-week
placement period in a school focusing on observation. Qualifying graduates will observe and
report on school policies, classroom activities, and available resources in a class context. The
placement will require five weeks in a school.

2.2 Outcomes

Your learning process, through this Teaching Practice module, is based on purposeful and
systematic practice and learning (from supervised teaching to co-teaching through to independent
teaching).

The general outcomes envisaged in this Teaching Practice module are:

• to support you step by step throughout your teaching practice experience

• to provide you with experience and good opportunities to become familiar with classroom
practices
• to provide you, as a prospective teacher, with the opportunity to establish an appropriate
teacher-learner relationship
• to provide you with the opportunity to assess your potential as a teacher and suitability for
the teaching profession
• to provide you with an opportunity to develop personal relationships with other students,
administrators, teachers, parents and learners

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• to provide you with an opportunity to put theories into practice and to develop a deeper
understanding of educational principles and their implications for learning and
to assist you in developing skills relating to the application of fundamental procedures,
techniques and methods of teaching
• to assist you in developing desirable professional interests, attitudes and ideas relative to
the teaching profession
• to provide you with an opportunity to observe and report on classroom activities, policies
and available resources in a class context

Below are the specific outcomes you should achieve in this module, together with the assessment
criteria related to each outcome.

Specific outcome Assessment criteria

Identify, understand and interpret the
management of the class in a This will be evident when the completed workbook shows
developmentally appropriate way relating
1 to Foundation Phase teaching. • that developmentally appropriate approaches to
management and teaching of children in the
Foundation Phase are interpreted and implemented.

Learners understand the administrative

component of teaching practice relating This will be evident when the completed workbook shows
to the daily organisation of suitable
2 learning activities. • that administrative tasks, related to planning
developmentally appropriate learning activities in the
Foundation Phase, are analysed, evaluated and
interpreted.
Learners can effectively observe,
analyse and interpret the planning and This will be evident when the completed workbook shows
presentation of developmentally
3 appropriate learning activities. • the use and application of knowledge to analyse,
interpret and explain the planning and presentation of
appropriate learning activities.

Learners can effectively analyse,

evaluate and interpret the planning and This will be evident when the completed workbook shows
use of developmentally appropriate
4 teaching resources in Foundation Phase • an ability to plan, the creation and use of
teaching. appropriate teaching media.

Please make sure that you read the Educator Code of Conduct as drafted by the South African
Council for Educators – especially point 3, which relates to the educator and learners. You will be
expected to conduct yourself in accordance with this code and the specific code of conduct for
teachers that your school has set out. You also need to apply for registration with SACE as a
student teacher. This is explained in Tutorial Letter 102. You will find the Educator Code of Conduct
here: www.sace.org.za/upload/files/ethics-brochure.pdf.

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3 CURRICULUM TRANSFORMATION
Unisa has implemented a transformation charter, in terms of which the University has placed curriculum
transformation high on the teaching and learning agenda. Curriculum transformation includes student-
centred scholarship, the pedagogical renewal of teaching and assessment practices, the scholarship of
teaching and learning, and the infusion of African epistemologies and philosophies. All of these will be
phased in at both programme and module levels, and as a result of this you will notice a marked change in
the teaching and learning strategy implemented by Unisa, together with the way in which the content is
conceptualised in your modules. We encourage you to embrace these changes during your studies at Unisa
in a responsive way within the framework of transformation.

4 LECTURER AND CONTACT DETAILS

4.1 Lecturer

Module coordinator: Dr PON Moshaba

Address: NS Radipere Building, Room 7-41, Muckleneuk Campus, Pretoria
E-mail address: emoshap@unisa.ac.za
Telephone number: 012 429 4314

If you have queries that are not of a general administrative nature, but are about the management
of this module specifically, please direct these to the coordinator. Please have your study material
at hand when you contact the module coordinator. Although the e-mail address and telephone
number of the module coordinator are mentioned above, you may wish to write to the coordinator
via e-mail.

The lecturers of modules linked to Teaching Practice are there to

• assist you in planning a way through your Teaching Practice module
• support the collaborative partnership (either directly or indirectly)
• assess your Teaching Practice Portfolio
• act as a source of information about the content to be taught, the teaching methodology, the
national policy documents and school procedures

4.2 Department

This module is managed by

The Department of Early Childhood Education, College of Education
PO Box 392
Unisa 0003

The departmental secretary is

Ms Magolego
Tel: 012 429 4583
E-mail: makgome1@unisa.ac.za

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4.3 University

If you need to contact the University about matters not related to the content of this module, please
consult the publication Study @ Unisa, which you will have received with your study material. This
brochure contains information on how to contact the University (e.g. whom to contact if you have
queries, important telephone and fax numbers, addresses and details of the times certain facilities
are open).

Please direct all administrative enquiries to:

study-info@unisa.ac.za

Contact addresses of the various administrative departments appear on the Unisa website:
http://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/Contact-us/Student-enquiries.

Please include your student number in all correspondence.

5 RESOURCES
5.1 Prescribed books

There are no prescribed books for this module.

5.2 Recommended books

Louw, LP, & Du Toit, ER. 2016. Help I’m a student teacher! Skills development for teaching
practice. Pretoria: Van Schaik.

Taole MJ. (Ed). 2015. Teaching practice, perspectives and frameworks. Pretoria: Van Schaik.

Taole MJ. (Ed). 2020. Teaching practice in an African context. Pretoria: Van Schaik.

Recommended books can be requested online, via the library catalogue.

5.3 Electronic reserves (e-reserves)

CAPS for Foundation Phase - Department of Basic Education

https://www.education.gov.za/Curriculum/CurriculumAssessmentPolicyStatements(CAPS)/CAPSFoundation/tabid/
571/Default.aspx

E-reserves can be downloaded from the library catalogue. More information is available at:
http://libguides.unisa.ac.za/request/request.

5.4 Library services and resources information

The Unisa Library offers a range of information services and resources:

• For brief information, go to https://www.unisa.ac.za/library/libatglance.

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 • For more detailed library information, go to
http://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/Library.
• For research support and services (e.g. the services offered by personal librarians and to
request a literature search service offered by the information search librarians), go to
http://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/Library/Library-services/Research-support.
• For library training for undergraduate students, go to
https://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/Library/Library-services/Training.

The Library has created numerous library guides, available at http://libguides.unisa.ac.za.

Recommended guides:

• Request and find library material/download recommended material:

http://libguides.unisa.ac.za/request/request
• Postgraduate information services: http://libguides.unisa.ac.za/request/postgrad
• Finding and using library resources and tools:
http://libguides.unisa.ac.za/Research_skills
• Frequently asked questions about the Library:
http://libguides.unisa.ac.za/ask
• Services to students living with disabilities:
http://libguides.unisa.ac.za/disability
• A–Z of library databases:
https://libguides.unisa.ac.za/az.php

Important contact information:

• Ask a librarian: https://libguides.unisa.ac.za/ask
• Technical problems encountered in accessing library online services:
Lib-help@unisa.ac.za
• General library-related queries: Library-enquiries@unisa.ac.za
• Queries related to library fines and payments: Library-fines@unisa.ac.za
• Social media channels: Facebook – UnisaLibrary; and Twitter – @UnisaLibrary

6 STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES

The Study @ Unisa brochure is available on myUnisa: www.unisa.ac.za/brochures/studies.

This brochure contains important information and guidelines for successful studies through Unisa.

If you need assistance with regard to the myModules system, you are welcome to use the following
contact details:

• Toll-free landline: 0800 00 1870 (select option 07 for myModules)

• E-mail: mymodules22@unisa.ac.za or myUnisaHelp@unisa.ac.za

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You can access and view short videos on topics such as how to view your calendar, how to
access module content, how to view announcements for modules, how to submit assessment
and how to participate in forum activities via the following link: https://dtls-
qa.unisa.ac.za/course/view.php?id=32130.

Registered Unisa students get a free myLife e-mail account. Important information, notices and
updates are sent exclusively to this account. Please note that it can take up to 24 hours for your
account to be activated after you have claimed it. Please do this immediately after registering
at Unisa, by following this link: myLifeHelp@unisa.ac.za.

Your myLife account is the only e-mail account recognised by Unisa for official correspondence
with the University and will remain the official primary e-mail address on record at Unisa. You
remain responsible for the management of this e-mail account.

6.1 The Unisa First-Year Experience Programme

Many students find the transition from school education to tertiary education stressful. This is also true in
the case of students enrolling at Unisa for the first time. Unisa is a dedicated open distance and e-learning
institution, and it is very different from face-to-face/contact institutions. It is a mega university, and all our
programmes are offered through either blended learning or fully online learning. It is for this reason that we
thought it necessary to offer first-time students additional/extended support to help them seamlessly
navigate the Unisa teaching and learning journey with little difficulty and few barriers. We therefore offer a
specialised student support programme to students enrolling at Unisa for the first time – this is Unisa’s First-
Year Experience (FYE) Programme, designed to provide you with prompt and helpful information about
services that the institution offers and how you can access information. The following FYE services are
currently offered:

• FYE website: All the guides and resources you need in order to navigate through your first
year at Unisa can be accessed using the following link: www.unisa.ac.za/FYE.

• FYE e-mails: You will receive regular e-mails to help you stay focused and motivated.

• FYE broadcasts: You will receive e-mails with links to broadcasts on various topics related
to your first-year studies (e.g. videos on how to submit assessments online).

• FYE mailbox: For assistance with queries related to your first year of study, send an e-mail
to fye@unisa.ac.za.

7 STUDY PLAN
You need to read the study material for Teaching Practice and submit the requirements.

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8. PRACTICAL WORK AND WORK-INTEGRATED LEARNING

8.1 School placements

Student teachers are placed in schools, which have been identified as sites of excellence in terms
of teaching and learning, where they will be able to complement their theoretical training with
practical experience, gain valuable exposure to the day-to-day operations at a school, and be
immersed in an authentic teaching and learning situation.

In order to facilitate all the relevant procedures, as a student teacher you must make the necessary
arrangements with the various partners, namely the Teaching Practice Office administrator(s);
school principal; university lecturer(s) and/or supervisor(s); and mentor/subject teacher(s).

Teaching Practice Placement Office

Address: Sunnyside Campus, Building 10, Room 2-30, Rissik Street, Pretoria, 0001

The placement of student teachers in schools entails certain procedures. Teaching

practical school placement will be done online via the myUnisa portal under “Student
View Function”. You will receive information about this in a separate tutorial letter (refer to
Tutorial Letter 102):

• The placement office deals with all the placements of students in schools and the
confirmation thereof.
• You must make sure you read Tutorial Letter 102 which deals solely with the
placement and procedures.
• You must be placed and receive confirmation of placement before you can start your
teaching practice.
• No lecturer can assist you with your placement.

8.2 Duration of teaching practice

For this module, you need to complete two assessments and two portfolios as evidence of your
teaching practice experience. You may plan to visit the school(s) according to your own personal
circumstances, taking the following into consideration:

• Assessment 01 must reach Unisa before the due date to enable exam admission.
• Assessment 02 must reach Unisa no later than final due date.
• Portfolios 50 & 51 must reach Unisa no later than the final due date.
• No extension is possible, as you have several months to complete the five weeks school-
based teaching practice. However, it must be no later than 2 weeks after you have
completed your teaching practice in the schools.
• Allow yourself time to gain sufficient insight into all the theoretical subjects before you start
with your teaching practice and the completion of assessments.

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• Students registered for this course are expected to complete their teaching practice in the
mainstream school system. You may not do your teaching practice at a school that
provides educational services exclusively for children with special educational
needs.
• Teaching practice activities cannot be carried over from one year to the next; you must
complete your teaching practice in the year in which you have registered.
• Don’t leave documentation at the school for signatures as they are often mislaid.
• If you fail to submit all the assessments, you will not pass the module and you will need to
reregister for the module.

9 ASSESSMENT
9.1 Assessment criteria

You will be required to demonstrate competency in written planning and preparation of lessons as
well as in presenting lessons for the subjects in the Foundation Phase. You will be expected to
implement current policy governing teaching in your lesson planning and preparation. You will also
be expected to integrate relevant education theories relating to the specific subjects in the
theoretical modules in your lesson plans. You will be required to demonstrate competency in writing
out lesson aims and objectives and lesson development in the planning documents. You will be
expected to draw on relevant learner teacher support material (LTSM) to develop, communicate
and present lessons. You will need to demonstrate that your lesson planning is aimed at conceptual
development and active learning. You will also be expected to critically reflect on your lessons.
Please view the support of and feedback from your mentor teacher or supervisor as developmental
and formative.

9.2 Assessment plan

• To complete this module, you will be required to submit four (4) assessments.

• All information on when and where to submit your assessments will be made available to
you via the myUnisa site for your module.

• Due dates for assessments, as well as the actual assessments, are available on the
myUnisa site for this module.

• To gain admission to the examination, you will be required to submit Assessment 1.

If you don’t submit assessment 1 you will not be able to continue with 2, 50 & 51.

• The assessments 1 and 2 weighting for the module is 20% of the year mark.

• Your assessments will comprise a combination of forms and two portfolios, containing
teaching practice lessons completed as part of your online teaching and school-based
teaching practice.

• The examination mark is calculated using the final portfolio marks.

• The examination portfolios will count 80% towards the final module mark.

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Your final mark is made up of:

Your year mark, which is made up of the marks you achieve for 20%
your assessments (Assessment 1 & 2)
Your examination mark (Assessments 50 and 51) 80%

Final mark 100%

9.3 Assessment due dates

• No assessment due dates are included in this tutorial letter.

• Assessment due dates will be made available to you on the myUnisa landing page for
this module. We envisage that the due dates will be available to you upon registration.

• Please start working on your assessments as soon as you register for the module.

• Log on to the myUnisa site for this module to obtain more information on the due dates
for the submission of the assessments.

9.4 Submission of assessments

• Unisa, as a comprehensive open distance e-learning institution (CODeL), is moving

towards becoming an online institution. You will therefore see that all your study
material, assessments and engagements with your lecturer and fellow students will
take place online. We use myUnisa as our virtual campus.

• The myUnisa virtual campus will offer students access to the myModules site, where
learning material will be available online and where assessments should be completed.
This is an online system that is used to administer, document, and deliver educational
material to students and support engagement between academics and students.

• The myUnisa platform can be accessed via https://my.unisa.ac.za. Click on the

myModules 2023 button to access the online sites for the modules that you are
registered for.

• The University undertakes to communicate clearly and as frequently as is necessary

to ensure that you obtain the greatest benefit from the use of the myModules learning
management system. Please access the Announcements on your myModules site
regularly, as this is where your lecturer will post important information to be shared with
you.

• When you access your myModules site for the module/s you are registered for, you
will see a welcome message posted by your lecturer. Below the welcome message
you will see the assessment shells for the assessments that you need to complete.
Some assessments may be multiple choice, some tests, others written assessments,
some forum discussions, and so on. All assessments must be completed on the
assessment shells available on the respective module platforms.

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• For written assessments, please note the due date by which the assessment must be
submitted. Ensure that you follow the guidelines given by your lecturer to complete the
assessment. Click on the Submission button on the relevant assessment shell on
myModules. You will then be able to upload your written assessment on the
myModules site of the modules that you are registered for. Before you finalise the
upload, double check that you have selected the correct file for upload. Remember, no
marks can be allocated for incorrectly submitted assessments.

9.5 The assessments

As indicated in section 9.2, you need to complete four assessments for this module. Details on the
assessments will be posted online.

There are no assessments included in this tutorial letter. Assessments and due dates will be
made available to you on myModules for this module. We envisage that the due dates will be
available to you upon registration.

9.6 The examination

Examination information and details on the format of the examination will be based on the summary
below. Portfolios are your final examination submissions. There is no written examination at the
end of the year for TPF2601. You may not carry the Teaching Practice module over to the next
year – you must complete it in the year of registration before the due date.

SUMMARY OF ASSESSMENTS FOR TPF2601

Teaching Practice Due date Contribution to year mark 20%

Assessment 1: Online 50 % towards year mark

Assessment 2: Online 50 % towards year mark

Tutorial letter Final mark

contribution
80 %
Tutorial Letter 103 50%
Assessment 50: General school observation

Tutorial Letter 104 50%

Assessment 51: Grades R to three and general school observation

Please note: The following is non-negotiable:

Teaching Practice TPF2601 assessments are final examinations.
• Make sure you upload your assessments before the due date.
• Make sure you upload the correct assessment.
• No late assessments will be accepted.
• Incorrect assessments will not be marked, and no resubmissions of the correct assessment will be
accepted.
• Assessment 50, 51 and 2 must be submitted three weeks after the placement irrespective of the
month in which you do your teaching practice
• Read all the material before you attempt your placement at schools. Rule and regulations apply
• Confirmation of placement must be received before you go for school-based teaching practice.
• Make sure you read all announcements on my modules

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 10 ACADEMIC DISHONESTY
10.1 Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the act of taking the words, ideas and thoughts of others and presenting them as your
own. It is a form of theft which involves several dishonest academic activities, such as the following:

• Cutting and pasting from any source without acknowledging the source.
• Not including or using incorrect references.
• Paraphrasing without acknowledging the original source of the information.
10.2 Cheating
Cheating includes, but is not limited to, the following:

• Completing assessments on behalf of another student, copying the work of another

student during an assessment, or allowing another student to copy your work.
• Using social media (e.g. WhatsApp, Telegram) or other platforms to disseminate
assessment information.
• Submitting corrupt or irrelevant files as per examination guidelines.
• Buying completed answers from so-called “tutors” or internet sites (contract cheating).
For more information about plagiarism, follow the link below:
https://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/myunisa/default/Study-@-Unisa/Student-values-and-rules

11 STUDENTS LIVING WITH DISABILITIES

The Advocacy and Resource Centre for Students with Disabilities (ARCSWiD) provides an
opportunity for staff to interact with first-time and returning students with disabilities.
If you are a student with a disability and would like additional support or need additional time for
assessments, you are invited to contact Dr PON Moshaba – emoshap@unisa.ac.za – so that you
can be assisted.

12 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

All frequently asked questions for this module will be posted on the module site.

13 SOURCES CONSULTED
Department of Education. 2007. National Policy Framework for Teacher Education and
Development in South Africa. www.education.gov.za.
Revised Policy on the Minimum Requirements for Teacher Education Qualifications. 2015.
Government Gazette: 38487.

14 IN CLOSING
I sincerely hope that you will enjoy this module and I wish you every success with your studies.
You are welcome to contact me for assistance with academic queries.
Dr PON Moshaba E-mail address: emoshap@unisa.ac.za
Telephone number: 012 429 4314
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