We are delighted to present one of our distinguished doctoral alumni, Dr Pheaga Jacob Moasa, whose academic journey culminated in graduation from The DaVinci Institute.
Dr Pheaga Jacob Moasa, when asked about his career to date, says, “I started my career as a trainee accountant in a Chartered Accounting firm and moved through the ranks in various roles at different companies, specialising in monitoring and evaluation, governance, risk, and compliance. Currently, I am employed with the Wholesale and Retail Sector Education and Training Authority as a Senior Manager in Enterprise Risk Management. This position entails providing assurance on governance, risk, and compliance to the board and management on high-value projects and the annual strategic plan to optimise the delivery of the SETA objectives.”
Perhaps influenced by his work, Dr Moasa is of the view that monitoring, evaluation, and implementation of plans and processes have evolved over the years in all sectors and organisations. However, in South Africa, monitoring and evaluation were first formally implemented by the Department of Land Affairs, where the first Monitoring and Evaluation Directorate was established in 1995.
Research on Monitoring and Evaluation in Sector Education and Training Authorities
Thus, his doctoral study (entitled: Monitoring and Evaluation as a Governance Tool for Enhancing Accountability in the Sector Education and Training Authorities) is focused on various facets of monitoring and evaluation, including the evaluation process, cost-benefit, return on investment, social return on investment, and value for money, to gain more insight into the history and development of monitoring and evaluation.
This study, as Dr Moasa notes, reviewed current monitoring and evaluation practices adopted by the participating sector education and training authorities and explored typical, potential obstacles encountered in the execution of systematic monitoring and evaluation.
The research findings, Dr Moasa further accords, highlight a set of challenges that have generally contributed to the poor implementation of monitoring and evaluation in recent times. Findings indicated the extent to which planned monitoring and evaluation activities were conducted and were linked to the project monitoring together with risk management activities to mitigate the corruption risks that might materialise and disturb the proper implementation of the skills development. The findings further revealed that the existence of the monitoring and evaluation framework provided a structured measure on which projects were monitored as a process to curb negative events such as project failure or, in a worse case, corruption regarding the funds paid to learners in the form of stipends.
Interestingly and furthermore, notes the author, there is a strong relationship between monitoring and evaluation and good governance within the participating sector education and training authorities, namely the bank sector education and training authority, the insurance sector education and training authority, and the wholesale and retail sector education and training authority.
To this end, the study recommends that the approved monitoring and evaluation framework and policy in the sector education and training authorities be further used to enhance accountability and transparency in all participating sector education and training authorities. In addition, the study recommends that more efforts be made to advocate for the utilisation of the reports that were produced by these business units. The efforts will ensure that monitoring and evaluation of the discretionary grants accurately account for the money spent and enhance good governance, accountability, monitoring, and evaluation of activities relating to the quality of the learning experience for learners in various disciplines offered by relevant sector education and training authorities, says Dr Moasa.
The Post-PhD Path and Words of Wisdom for Aspiring Scholars
“Discipline, consistency, and focus are the three primary qualities that helped me in my PhD journey”, as Dr Moasa concedes, before adding: “Studying for doctoral qualifications is a path that transforms lives because it reveals important characteristics that one would not have known without this study. The voyage puts a person's fortitude, tolerance, ability to manage their time, discipline, and critical thinking to the test. This was clear from how one handled the various problems and challenging situations encountered in the workplace. The qualification has brought a lot of pressure and, at times, unreasonable expectations from me by the people in my professional and social life. This includes the expectation to provide solutions and advice on subjects that I haven't personally encountered.”
In light of his distinguished academic prowess, we afford our esteemed alumnus the platform to divulge his forthcoming endeavours and impart pearls of wisdom, encapsulated in his declaration thus: “Given my passion for education, my next step will be to help other students with similar interests earn their postgraduate degrees through supervision roles and other unstructured required assistance. Hence, I will also soon begin post-doctoral programmes. My advice to students who want to take this journey is to prepare mentally and reorganise their social and professional lives in a way that won't subject them to too much pressure.”