By Momodou Torp
The Chief Executive Officer of National Accreditation and Quality Assurance Authority (NAQAA) has called for robust policy formulations within the country’s higher education institutions, to address societal challenges.
Dr. Jibril Jaw was speaking to The Standard on the sidelines of a weeklong training on external quality assurance organised by NAQAA in partnership with UNESCO and the Government of China.
The training aims to capacitate higher educational institutions to boost quality and assurance by ensuring their programmes positively impacts on the society.
“We do not just teach to provide educational needs but also to address societal issues. We have to consider the need of the society and what is delivered in higher education,” Dr. Jaw said.
“Our institutions need to bring out people, educating them on quality assurance for the society to benefit more,” he added.
The NAQAA CEO further disclosed that his office has zero tolerance on shortages of standardisation and poor quality assurances in higher institutions, stating that the regulatory body will not ‘accredit any institution when they are not equipped to run certain courses.’
He stressed that the knowledge that institutions are selling should be relevant to the society and its needs in order to meet the ever-increasing industrial demands.
He urged institutions to tailor their programmes in a way that upon completion of their courses graduates’ best fit in positions available in the industries.
“Educational institutions are selling knowledge but how relevant is this knowledge to societal needs? This is why it is important for them to go back and dialogue with the society so that they can design what will satisfy their needs,” Dr. Jaw noted.
