Egypt has taken a leading role in efforts to strengthen higher education quality assurance across Africa, representing North Africa at the first meeting of the interim council of the Pan-African Quality Assurance and Accreditation Alliance (PAQAA), the National Authority for Quality Assurance and Accreditation of Education (NAQAAE) said.
The meeting was held at the African Union Commission (AUC) headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with the participation of representatives from 23 African countries, NAQAAE said in a statement.
The meeting forms part of continent-wide efforts supported by the European Union to implement the Harmonisation of African Higher Education Quality Assurance and Accreditation (HAQAA) initiative, which seeks to strengthen accreditation systems at institutional, national and regional levels.
Participants agreed on the basic framework for PAQAA’s governance structure and statutes, laying the groundwork for unified accreditation systems and closer cooperation among African quality assurance bodies.
The meeting also focused on strengthening the use of the Pan-African Quality Assurance and Accreditation Framework (PAQAF), which aims to facilitate the recognition of academic qualifications, support student and academic mobility across Africa and improve the capacity of national quality assurance agencies.
NAQAAE said Egypt’s participation reflects its role in coordinating quality assurance and accreditation efforts in North Africa and its commitment to supporting African integration in higher education.
The authority said stronger continental quality assurance mechanisms would help improve the competitiveness of African higher education institutions and qualifications internationally while facilitating greater academic mobility across the continent.
