Consumer News Namibia Magazine has in
previous editions covered the education sector, and more specifically the
private tertiary institutions sector, but for the sake of our readers once again
we give details in this article.
Let us start with educational institutions
that are based in Namibia.
The Namibian constitution states:
(4) All persons shall have the right, at
their own expense, to establish and to maintain private schools, or colleges or
other institutions of tertiary education: provided that:
(a) such schools, colleges or institutions
of tertiary education are registered with a Government department in accordance
with any law authorising and regulating such registration;
(b) the standards maintained by such
schools, colleges or institutions of tertiary education are not inferior to the
standards
Educational institutions in Namibia (and
their portfolio or courses) are accredited by the Namibia Qualifications
Authority (NQA). This institution evaluates and accredits national institutions
and degrees, as well as foreign qualifications of people who wish to
demonstrate the national equivalence of their degrees earned abroad.
According to their website:
“The
Namibia Qualifications Authority (also referred to as the NQA) is a statutory
body established by the Namibia Qualifications Authority Act No 29 of 1996.
The
NQA is committed to the promotion of quality education and training in Namibia
through the development and management of a comprehensive and flexible National
Qualifications Framework (NQF).
Quality
is also promoted by the NQA through the Accreditation of education and training
providers in Namibia and their courses.
The
NQA wishes to assist the development of Namibia as a proud nation through
putting in place systems and opportunities that allows all people to develop to
their fullest potential without being hindered by unnecessary obstacles and
barriers.
The
NQA believes that all people have a right to having their learning and
abilities validly, fairly, reliably and equitably recognised regardless of when,
how and where learning attainments and competences were attained.”
Unfortunately, this is the only page that
works on the NQA website. All other pages were unavailable for link through
from 20 – 29 July 2013.
In a nutshell, the NQA has the responsibility
of ensuring the quality of education received by Namibians. They do this
through accrediting Namibian institutions and their courses as well as
evaluating of course provided by international organisations.
Thus a Namibian student (or their parents)
should first check with the Namibia Qualifications Authority (NQA) before
commencing their studies at either a local or foreign institution. In addition,
the consumer must take note of what level the course is in the National
Qualifications Framework.
Until Namibia gets a Consumer Protection
Act, the rule is “Caveat emptor” or let the buyer beware. It still is the
responsibility of the buyer to research the goods or services they wish to
purchase and they have no recourse to the law if these do not meet their
expectations.
