The processes to develop three comprehensive national policy documents to harmonise educational qualifications in the country will be achieved within one year, the former Director-General of the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), Professor Mohammed Salifu, has said.

He explained that due to the importance of the policy documents to enable the country to develop an education and qualification system which is “relevant, adaptable and futuristic”, GTEC was “painstakingly” working with 15 relevant institutions and professional bodies to roll out the comprehensive system within the projected one year period.

The documents are the national qualification framework for all levels and sub-sectors of education and training; the recognition of prior learning (RPL) for mainly the informal sector, and the credit accumulation and transfer (CAT) system mainly for students.

Prof. Salifu announced this at the closing of a five-day workshop jointly organised by the GTEC and the African Continental Qualifications Framework (ACQF-II).

The ACQF-II is a project of the African-European Union partnership, implemented by the European Training Foundation, in collaboration with countries, regions and the African Union Commission.

Stakeholders were drawn from the GTEC, Ministries of Education, Employment and Labour Relations, the Commission for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (CTVET), the Ghana Education Service (GES) and the West African Examinations Council (WAEC).

Others were the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA), the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS), the Conference of Principals of Colleges of Education (PRINCOF), Vice-Chancellors of Ghana, Vice-Chancellors of Technical Universities of Ghana (VCTU-G), and the Council of Independent Universities (CIU).

The rest were from the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), the Association of Professional Bodies and the Attorney-General's Department.

 Documents

The documents, when completed, would facilitate international recognition of qualifications by educational institutions and companies, enhance job mobility, access to decent jobs, quality assurance and standards.

It would also ensure coherence and career progression, both within and outside the country.

Tertiary level students would also be able to transfer their credit hours from one institution to the other within and outside the country to enable them to continue their education. 

Accredited programmes 

Prof. Salifu further revealed that there were about 3,200 existing accredited programmes in institutions in the country that led to specific qualifications which would be harmonised when the processes were completed.

He said under the comprehensive policy documents “the nomenclature for these qualifications would be developed so that we can avoid confusion and define clearer learning outcomes”.

The former GTEC Director General stated that institutions set up like the universities and other degree awarding institutions to award qualifications should be in line with the nation’s development strategy or priorities.

Therefore he stated that there was the need to put in place comprehensive systems to ensure that those awarding institutions conduct their activities based on certain frameworks and also fit for global benchmarks.