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The National Accreditation Commission was officially established and launched yesterday in Belize City. The commission’s official launch comes ten months after the Accreditation Bill Amendment Bill was tabled in the House of Representatives. In his speech, Education Minister Francis Fonseca noted that the COVID-19 pandemic has sparked a massive influx of online education, much of which is provided by illegal schools and institutions. At yesterday’s launch, Fonseca reiterated this and further explained the role of the commission.
Education Minister Francis Fonseca: “The main duties of the Commission include: A, registering domestic and foreign institutions that offer courses in Belize. Registering these institutions is a fundamental duty. Maintaining a register of approved institutions, providers and courses. Accrediting and re-accrediting courses of institutions operating in Belize. Validating new courses and programs of institutions operating in Belize. Advising on the recognition of foreign institutions, education and training and their awards. These are very, very important duties. I can tell you that at the Ministry of Education, we receive requests every day from Belizeans for support, assistance, scholarships to attend universities or institutions, educational institutions, and I have to use that word very broadly because that is the truth, educational institutions from every corner of the world. Every corner of the world. We receive requests from people who want to study in the Czech Republic. People want to study in Germany, in Italy, in countries around the world, all over the Caribbean, and a lot of times we don’t know anything about these institutions. So this is an important job. The public service, the Ministry of Public Service, we engage with them a lot. Our public servants very rightly and legitimately want to improve their education. You know, when you improve your education, of course your salary goes up a few notches, and everyone wants that. Everyone wants a better quality of life for themselves and their family. So there’s nothing wrong with that. But we have to be responsible for making sure that these institutions that they attend, if we don’t know and understand the quality of the degrees and certificates that they’re getting when we invest in their talent, then it’s not fair to them, it’s not fair to the Ministry of Education, and it’s not fair to the country.”
Also speaking at the launch yesterday, Minister of State Dr. Louis Zabane stressed that higher education is one of the government’s priorities.
Dr. Louis Zabane, Kenya’s Minister of State for Education, Science, Technology and Culture, said: “As you all know, I am a supporter of sustainable human development, which combines the concept of sustainable development with the concept of human development. There are four pillars to this, namely economic, social, environmental and institutional. Now, what we are talking about here is the institutional pillar. We strengthen our institutions by setting up an accrediting body, which will be responsible for doing what needs to be done, working closely with all stakeholders to achieve these goals and the mission of each particular institution. To summarize, there are 14 important areas of accreditation. These areas are particularly suitable for the higher education sector, but we will certainly talk about secondary and primary schools, which have their own characteristics. So basic things, like the principle of integrity. What is the mission of the institution? What gives the institution the basic legal right to do what it is doing? The authority to grant degrees. The governing body of the institution is very important. Management and organization, that’s another key area. Faculty. Meaning teachers, right, those who are engaged in instructional leadership. So institutional planning and efficiency, how is it addressed? Student performance, how is it measured and how is it adjusted along the way? Educational program structure and content. Educational policies and procedures. Library and learning information resources. Academic and student support services. Financial and physical resources, and transparency and institutional representativeness. As you can see, there are many aspects involved in this very critical area of accreditation.”
It is worth noting that the National Certification Board was originally established 18 years ago, but only on paper.
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