2015-05-20Staff Report 2 The Namibia Qualifications Authority (NQA) has cemented relationships with authorities and institutions of higher learning in Zimbabwe. This is a direct result of co-operation agreements reached during a visit to the southern Africa country recently. As part of its stakeholder engagement strategy, NQA recently sent a high-level delegation led by its CEO, Franz Gertze, to engage with key stakeholders in Zimbabwe. With assistance from the Namibian Embassy in Harare, NQA paid courtesy calls on stakeholders in the education sector, including the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Zimbabwe School Examinations Council, Zimbabwe Council on Higher Education and several institutions of higher learning. Primarily, its interactions were aimed at exchanging valuable information regarding the process of evaluating foreign qualifications and sharing best practices in the area of quality assurance. NQA, as per its mandate under the Regulations to the Evaluation of Qualifications (Government Notice 182, 2007), evaluates qualifications attained from institutions of higher learning outside Namibia. This is done with the aim of firstly establishing the authenticity of such qualifications and secondly, determining their comparable level on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF). The talks concluded on a high note with the parties identifying and agreeing on areas of mutual collaboration. These agreements not only strengthen the long-standing relationship between the NQA and its stakeholders based in Zimbabwe, but are also beneficial for the authority in terms of improving its internal efficiency. These collaborations are of great value, as they open up new opportunities for the NQA to improve the process of verifying and evaluating foreign qualifications and thereby enhancing overall customer experience, the NQA said. As a direct result of the collaborations between the NQA and stakeholders in Zimbabwe, NQA is now in a better position to evaluate qualifications originating from institutions of higher learning in that country. While this process is ongoing, NQA has appealed to all clients who submitted qualifications for evaluation to be patient as the verification process continues. “NQA assures its clients that all efforts are being made to ensure that the evaluation process is completed within the shortest time possible, and that all clients will be notified individually once their applications have been processed,” the qualifications authority has said. The NQA was established by NQA Act 29 of 1996 and has as its mandate to exercise and perform the statutory powers, duties and functions which include but are not limited to set up and administer a National Qualifications Framework, accredit persons, institutions and organisations providing education and courses of instruction or training and advise any person, body, institution, organisation or interest group on matters pertaining to qualifications and national standards for qualifications. 2015-05-20Staff Report 2
