All post-secondary, tertiary education institutions to be registered, accredited – NAC

The Education Ministry’s National Accreditation Council (NAC) is moving forward with the government’s agenda which will enable Guyanese to benefit from a world-class education system.

Accreditation is the first step in that direction and is in keeping with NAC’s efforts to ensure that all post-secondary and tertiary education institutions operate at their highest standards.

The council oversees and provides guidance in relation to the accreditation and recognition of educational and training institutions, services, programmes, and awards, both domestically and abroad.

To this end, the Council hosted its annual staff retreat’s opening ceremony at the Regency Hotel at Hadfield Street, Georgetown on Monday.

Executive Director of the council, Dr Marcel Hutson, in his remarks, noted that the council is working assiduously to fulfil its mandate in terms of output.

“When we take into consideration the developmental trajectory that Guyana is on at this time. It is critical that our institutions operate at certain standards to meet the needs of a nation that is on its way to development. It is only fitting that we move in this direction so that we could develop some kind of unison in our thinking and approach”, the executive director said.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the council, Mohandatt Goolsarran noted that collectively, the council can chart a path forward to create an integrated tertiary education system.

He added that the council is working to bring both private and public educational institutions on board to be registered and accredited.

For the process of accreditation, there are 21 standards that an institution must demonstrate they have achieved.

The chairman indicated that at the end of the two-day retreat, the council hopes to achieve several goals.

“We will work with them in terms of providing guidance as to how to reach the various levels of compliance and we’ll bring them on board. The next step would be those who would have been given registration to move towards programme accreditation”, Goolsarran underlined.

Meanwhile, independent evaluators will visit the institutions to examine the records, conduct interviews, and examine the facilities. Provided that those standards are met, then, the institutions are recommended for first registration. A fee must be paid to be registered and a certificate of registration is provided.

Following registration, the institutions will go through a process of programme accreditation.

Accreditation is meeting national, regional, and international standards and guidelines in terms of the quality of the institution or programme.

Once an institution is accredited, it is shared with all other accreditation bodies around the globe.

Some 12 institutions (public and private) are unregistered.

These include the Carnegie School of Home Economics and Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) which are currently being registered.

Technical institutes in Berbice, Georgetown, and West Demerara are registered.

The theme for the retreat is ‘Bridging the gaps of higher educational institutions operational in Guyana: A focus on quality, inclusivity, and innovation in pursuit of regional and international standards.’