Article
Quality Assurance in Higher Education: Navigating Opportunities and Challenges in Zambia
On a rapidly evolving education landscape, one question echoed through the walls of a conference room in Lusaka: Do our graduates acquire degrees that imbue them with the relevant skills, ethical standards, and adaptability required by the labour market and entrepreneurial landscape?
This key question raised by Dr. Kelvin Mambwe, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education of Zambia set the tone for the UNESCO Workshop on Strengthening Quality Assurance in Higher Education that took place on 19-20 May 2025 in Zambia. 50 quality assurance professionals, academic and management personnel from across Zambia convened with a shared vision: to strengthen and build resilient quality assurance systems that empower learners and society.
Hosted by the UNESCO Regional Office for Southern Africa, in partnership with Zambia鈥檚 Higher Education Authority (HEA) and the Southern African Regional Universities Association (SARUA), this workshop marked a step forward in strengthening academic excellence, promoting exchanges of good practices and harmonizing quality assurance practices. It emphasized that quality assurance is a commitment to fostering trust, ensuring institutional credibility, and supporting the continuous improvement of learning outcomes.
This workshop supports the implementation of regional and global normative frameworks, including the Addis Convention, the Global Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education, and the African Union鈥檚 . It is also an integral part of UNESCO鈥檚 Operational Strategy for Priority Africa (2022-2029) and its Campus Africa Flagship Programme, which, as highlighted by Dr Noah W. Sobe, Chief of Section for Higher Education at UNESCO Headquarters 鈥aims to empower young African generations through quality higher education that builds research capacity and creates pathways to rewarding work.鈥
Over the two days, the workshop engaged participants in interactive training modules, practical exercises, and group discussions on topics that ranged from concepts and normative frameworks, assessment methodologies, curriculum development and evaluation to digital transformation in higher education.
One of the key lessons that I have learned at this workshop is that internal QA [quality assurance] is a nucleolus of the whole QA system, whether internal or external, and that universities are the key implementors of QA, ensuring that at the end of the day, their system speaks to the national arrangements, but also the regional and global frameworks that have been put in place.
Participants also highlighted that as higher education institutions increasingly integrate digital technologies, the implications for quality assurance are profound. The shift towards online learning and digital resources presents an opportunity to broaden access to education but also raises critical questions about the quality and integrity of these offerings. This involves not only refining assessment methodologies to include digital environments but also rethinking what constitutes 鈥渜uality鈥 in a virtual space.
Regional collaboration also emerged as vital for addressing these challenges. The ongoing third phase of the Harmonization of African Higher Education Quality Assurance and Accreditation (2023-2028) initiative is pivotal, as it aims to support 鈥the capacity building of the higher education sector on issues related to evidence-based and informed policy making and regional integration and the continued opportunities for the SADC region, as it relates to quality assurance frameworks, but also regional data collection and credit systems鈥 as emphasized by Ms. Elizabeth Colucci, Director of International Projects at OBREAL.
Conventions aren鈥檛 just frameworks. They鈥檙e bridges. Bridges for student mobility, for research collaboration, for a united SADC higher education system.
The Zambia workshop, which follows the pilot held in Zimbabwe in October 2024, is part of a broader series of capacity-building workshops on strengthening quality assurance in higher education initiated by UNESCO ROSA, aimed at enhancing educational systems across the Southern African region.
The momentum generated in Lusaka will continue, as UNESCO and quality assurance stakeholders across the region work hand-in-hand to build on the progress made. Together, the commitment will be to ensure that every learner who graduates from higher education institutions does not only walk out with just a theoretical degree but is equipped with skills for personal and professional growth, prepared to respond to the needs and opportunities of their communities.
