The Namibia Qualifications Authority (NQA) recently granted accreditation status to three institutions, being the Atlantic Training Institution, Namibian Maritime and Fisheries Institute and the Ngato Vocational Training Centre.
In an attempt to ensure quality education, the NQA has to date granted accreditation and an expansion of scope to 60 educational institutions.
Accreditation is the objective confirmation by the NQA that training providers have the capacity to provide specified courses, and assess the performance of learners enrolled in such courses.
Before granting accreditation, the NQA Council, which is the final decision-making body, must therefore have satisfied itself that the training provider has met all the requirements of the accreditation standard stipulated in the regulations as gazetted
The training provider must provide proof of appropriate course design and delivery, employment of appropriately qualified staff, adequate facilities as well as equipment to promote a conducive teaching and learning environment.
NQA spokesperson Catherine Shipushu
noted that the NQA Council also granted an expansion of scope to Africa Institutional Management Services and Triumphant College, and re-accreditation to the International University of Management (IUM), Nampost Business School and International Training College-Lingua.
This brings the total number of accredited institutions in the country to 60, offering over 769 quality-assured programmes in various fields of study.
The impact of a quality assured qualification is one that goes beyond the individual graduate.
“It elevates the standard of living for families, improves communities and transforms economies. Through the process of quality assurance in higher education, the country is also able to produce graduates who possess the right skills to address current and future socioeconomic and other national challenges,” Shipushu stated. Conversely, the impact of an unaccredited institution is the exact opposite, adding that instead of progress, there will be devastation. “Families who sacrificed their hard-earned money to send their children to study are left with nothing but a qualification that is not even worth the paper it is printed on, and in some cases insurmountable debt,” she warned.
–anakale@nepc.com.na