The Government at its meeting today is to establish a National Agency for Professional Education Quality. The Agency will review the curricula of the higher, vocational and continuous-training institutions providing technical education, and will be responsible for institutional accreditation, IPN reports.
The educational institutions accredited in the past will need to prove that their courses meet the standards, to obtain provisional authorization for any new courses, and to have their accreditation renewed every five years.
As concerns new institutions, they will need to obtain a provisional authorization allowing them to organize enrollment and begin studies, and then to acquire a full-fledged accreditation to be able to issue certificates of study.
The Agency shall be an independent entity operating on the basis of accreditation and evaluation standards and methodologies approved by the Government.
The Agency will employ a staff of 45, including 15 members of the Board. A provisional board will be established to initiate activities and develop the rules of procedure.
