Regional quality assurance forum underway
THE 12th Annual East African Higher Education Quality Assurance Forum (EAQAN) is currently underway in Bujumbura, Burundi under the theme: “Nurturing Emerging Trends in Higher Education through quality Assurance.”
The Forum, which kicked off on September 5, 2023, provides an opportunity for higher education professionals, experts and other stakeholders in the East African Community to reflect on the place of quality assurance in nurturing emerging trends in higher education not only in the region, but the continent and beyond.
The conference is attended by Heads of National Commissions and Councils for Higher Education, Vice Chancellors, other higher education managers, quality assurance coordinators and partitioners, higher education development partners and other invited experts who presented the results of their research on various topics including transformative teaching and learning in higher education, programme accreditation, competence-based education, ethics in online delivery, role of Quality Assurance in research and innovation in higher education among others.
“I am glad to learn that the forum has been organised in such a way that, apart from discussions, we will also have a room for experience sharing, good practices excursions, benchmarking, reflections and networking, with a focus on giving higher education an opportunity to reflect on the place of quality assurance in higher education,” said Professor Frederic Bangirinama, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of National Education and Scientific Research, Burundi.
He added: “As the Inter-University Council for East Africa, we believe in the potential power of networks like the East African Higher Education Quality Assurance Network as a tool to advance a common agenda. Their roles can widely vary but their collective impact is significant in driving positive change and addressing complex challenges like the ones the region is currently facing as we forge our way to improve quality education and build a more resilient and competitive EAC higher education.”
