Govt tightens noose on higher learning

Sat, 10 Jun 2017 09:36:34 +0000

BY CHINTU MALAMBO

WE will soon launch a data base rating all tertiary institutions in the country, Zambia Qualifications Authority chief executive officer, Mirriam Chiyaba, has said.

Speaking in an interview with the Daily Nation, Ms Chiyaba said that the motive was to promote quality education among tertiary institutions operating in Zambia.

She said that the authority had the responsibility to ensure that institutions of higher learning offered their graduates credible qualifications.

Ms Chiyaba said the authority was still in its development stage and was compiling data to be able to send out a clear message on what was genuine or not.

“As you know, the qualifications authority is in its development stage; as we go we will have more meaningful data because it is better to say we have so many universities that are genuine and so many that are not.

‘‘At this stage, it will be too early for us to say because we want to send out a clear message that will be able to tell,” she said.

Ms Chiyaba said that appropriate authorities were given the mandate to recommend qualifications if the qualifications met the relevant criteria.

It was important that competent bodies issued those qualifications to ascertain that an individual had achieved the predetermined learning outcomes to predetermine standards.

“A qualification in the context of the Zambia Qualifications Framework is an award granted for successful completion of a program of study and is the formal outcome of an assessment and validation process which is obtained when a competent body determines that an individual has achieved predetermined learning outcomes,” she said.