By Belinda/Julius Mugaga, Umoja Standard.
Munyonyo, Uganda: Higher Education Minister John Chrysestom Muyingo noted that quality education is a process requiring meticulous planning and effective execution.
“Harmonizing quality assurance systems across East Africa is vital for recognizing qualifications, promoting academic mobility, and enhancing employability, Minister Muyingo observed.
He made this call on Monday while officiating at the opening of the 14th East African Higher Education Quality Assurance Forum at Speke Resort Munyonyo, Kampala.
The East African Community’s declaration of a Common Higher Education Area demonstrates political will, paving the way for experts to implement practical strategies.
“The concept of ‘quality education’ can be viewed as fluid as there could be multiple views of quality depending on ones’ standpoint. Quality assurance becomes the cornerstone in higher education, ensuring institutions deliver programs meeting students’, employers’, and society’s needs, he said.
Regional integration hinges on people, and harmonizing quality assurance practices can trigger mobility and collaboration.
Muyingo urged for active engagement, sharing expertise to develop a harmonized quality assurance system, and practicing integration beyond the forum by interacting with the host community.
Accordingly, James Kubeketerya, chairperson of the Parliamentary Education Committee, Muyingo stressed the need for consistency in holding the annual forum to strengthen resilience in quality assurance.
“Quality education should not be seen as an event but rather as a process that takes time and involves a multiplicity of actors,” he observed calling upon participants to leverage political goodwill to foster effective quality assurance practices across the region.
On her part, Professor Mary J.N. Okwakol, the Executive Director of the National Council for Higher Education-Uganda sounded the significance of quality assurance agencies and networks like EAQAN and NCHE in promoting cross-border mobility and cooperation.
The forum’s theme, “Strengthening and Harmonizing Higher Education Quality Assurance Systems for Enhanced East Africa Regional Integration,” aligns with the East African Community’s growing needs and expanding network of universities.
“NCHE Uganda has made progress in strengthening the Uganda Higher Education Qualifications Framework, integrating technology in quality assurance, and advancing competence-based curricula, she revealed.
Okwakol called for collaboration, sharing evidence-based practices, and building stronger partnerships between academia, industry, and regulatory bodies to make student and staff mobility seamless across the region.
“Let us use this forum to translate the recent Ministerial commitments on the EACHEA into concrete actions, she appealed.
The forum widely believed that, a harmonized East African higher education space can be built, driving innovation and sustainable development. The forum provided a technical platform to operationalize policy commitments, ensuring globally competitive graduates and research outputs.
