OMUTHIYA – There are currently 69 Namibia Qualifications Authority-accredited institutions of higher learning in Namibia, none of which are in the Oshikoto region.

This was revealed by NQA spokesperson Lina Ndengu during a stakeholder information session on Thursday at Omuthiya, held to sensitise the public about NQA’s role in the education sector.

She urged parents to enquire at the NQA if the particular institutions they wish to enrol their children in are accredited before making payment for enrolment. “If learners study at accredited institutions, they gain assurance of the quality of the course they are enrolling for, and gain the ability to be recognised by employers,” said Ndengu.

She advised parents to stop enrolling their children at institutions of higher learning that are not accredited by NQA, as there is no assurance that their qualifications will be accepted.

“Unaccredited institutions of higher learning have a tendency of rushing people to register with them, so parents should always enquire, and NQA will respond to them within a period of seven days,” Ndengu said. Based on the feedback, parents can then decide to enrol or not enrol their children at that particular institution, she added.

She suggested regional councillors scan through their constituencies to find out about unaccredited institutions, and advise them to be accredited. She also highlighted that they have a challenge of retired teachers and nurses who are setting up institutions in rural areas, who fail to follow the NQA accreditation process.

Oshikoto region’s education director Aletta Eises raised concern during the meeting that Oshikoto is a rural region limited in terms of information and communication technology, so most of the information about NQA does not reach people in the villages. She also urged NQA to have centres in the region to bring services to the larger public, and put in the effort to make sure they are visible through advocacy and raising awareness. NQA is a public enterprise that is responsible for quality assurance in higher education and training in Namibia. The authority is carrying out stakeholder meetings to raise awareness of their function. -Nampa