Rose Dod is a qualified teacher, already doing the accredited conversion course to become an educational psychologist.

BBC: NEWS | UK | Education | Anger over new training programme

But his wife, knowing that he enjoyed showing visiting relatives and friends around Cape Town, advised him to do an accredited tour guiding course, in time for the football World Cup which took place in South Africa in 2010, so that he could be part of the experience.

BBC: South Africa��s hi-tech tour operator

New entrants are trying to get in on the act: Pearson, an educational publisher which owns 50% of The Economist, announced this week that it plans to offer its own degree course, accredited by Royal Holloway, part of the University of London.

ECONOMIST: The university landscape is changing, but not fast enough