The Ministry of Education, Innovation, Youth, Sports, Arts and Culture has urged the public to report higher education institutions operating without registration or accreditation.
“The ministry encourages the public to remain vigilant and to report any suspected unregistered or unaccredited higher education institutions for immediate investigation,” says education executive director Erastus Haitengela.
Haitengela notes that the ministry is working with national regulatory and quality assurance bodies to identify unregistered and unaccredited higher education institutions operating in Namibia.
“The law compels institutions offering higher education programmes to be registered with the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) or with the Namibia Training Authority (NTA) for technical and vocational education and training, as well as be accredited by the Namibia Qualifications Authority (NQA),” he says.
Haitengela warns against some unregistered and unaccredited institutions that operate on a ‘fly-by-night’ basis, saying this leaves students with qualifications that may not be accepted by employers or other learning institutions.
He urges prospective students to verify a college or university’s registration with the NCHE or NTA before enrolling, and advises them to check that their course is accredited with the NQA before making any payments.
