About Potchefstroom College of Agriculture

About Potchefstroom College of Agriculture

The Potchefstroom College of Agriculture is part of the North-West Provincial Government Department of Rural, Environment and Agricultural Development and has been established to provide agricultural education within the South African higher education sector. It is a Higher Education and Training (HET) institution. The indications in the contemporary discourse on higher education and training are that the names of agricultural colleges in South Africa would change to ‘centres of excellence’ to underscore their distinction from the universities in terms of their curricular focus. Whereas universities teach Agricultural Science with the focus on theoretical aspects, the colleges use science to teach practical agriculture with curricular emphasis on production.
The business of the College, particularly on matters of quality assurance, is regulated by the Higher Education Quality Committee (HEQC) through the Higher Education Act of 1997, whereas its political oversight rests with the MEC of the North-West Provincial Department Rural, Environment and Agricultural Development and the Minister of Agriculture. The College offers a Diploma in Agriculture (two year of residential study and one year additional experiential training on a farm). The curriculum is developed to provide academic and practical training to meet the needs of prospective commercial farmers and the agricultural sector.