NAB Bill taken through second reading

Parliament has taken the National Accreditation Board Bill through its second reading.

The Bill seeks to revise the legislation of the board to reflect changing demands in tertiary education.

Tertiary education, particularly in the private sector, has expanded since the passage of the law. The introduction of the bill is, therefore, to correct certain operational weaknesses and bottlenecks which needs to be addressed if the purpose of accreditation is to be achieved.

The Chairman of the Committee of Education, Mr. Stephen Baladu-Manu in presenting the committee's report to Parliament, said to assist students make informed choices concerning programmes and institutions accredited, the committee recommends that the National Accreditation Board (NAB) publishes the list of accredited institutions and programmes in the national dailies annually.

“This is to minimise the situation where students may enroll into unaccredited institutions and programmes,” he said.

Mr Balado-Manu said many foreign tertiary institutions were operating in the country without the approval of NAB and sometimes
these institutions exploit innocent and prospective students.

“The importance of the NAB Bill cannot be over emphasised as it seeks to empower the Board to support government's policy of providing quality assurance in the tertiary education sector,” Mr Balado-Manu added.

Source: GNA