Issue 19 January 2016 Welcome to the third and last edition of our Newsletter for the year 2015! As I ponder on the accomplish- ments of the SQA for the year, I realise that it has travelled far and even walked the extra mile despite the ever present chal- lenges. I thank the SQA staff members for their hard work, dedication, commitment and team work that prevailed to en- sure that successes overcome the odds. The populace has become in- creasingly conscious of the prominence of the Authority in the protection of the interest of learners. This has been made evident by the number of emails virtually daily requesting that the Authority verifies the status of overseas education and training providers prior to enrolment on programmes or short training on offer by the providers. Also, the SQA has welcomed a number of clients and attended to requests from work organisations for pur- pose of evaluation or certifica- tion of true copy of qualifications. The third trimester has been quite eventful. The SQA hosted a del- egation of two senior officers from the Mauritius Qualifications Au- thority (MQA). The highlight of the visit was the half day workshop on Recognition of Prior Learning which was animated by the MQA delegation and included partici- pants from Professional Centres. The two countries were eager to share knowledge and experienc- es and to learn from each other. There was also an Accreditation Visit at the Seychelles Business Studies Academy (previously the School of Business Studies and Accounting) in October. The pur- pose of this visit that lasted three days was to monitor progress made by Seychelles Business Studies Academy in implement- ing its action plan, developed to address the recommendations of the accreditation visit of 2012. The SQA Accreditation Team ob- served significant improvements in Seychelles Business Studies Academy since the last SQA re- view in August 2012. This is in- deed a major achievement for the Academy and subsequently the SQA. The SQA continued to record pro- gress in the implementation of activities and projects within the scope of its mandate which we showcase in this final edition of our Newsletter for 2015. As the SQA staff members got to- gether to enjoy the delicious end of year lunch, it was clear that the Recognising your Competencies Editorial Inside this issue Editorial SQA Welcomes e MQA Delegation To e Seychelles Institutional Accreditation 2015 in Pictures Validation Process of Programmes of Tertiary Education Institutions: Recognition of Prior Learning - Update Evaluation and Certification of qualifications Pages 1 2 5 6 8 8 10 team spirit that has earned us remarkable successes in 2015 would remain our driving force to- wards other great achievements in 2016 and beyond. Fiona Ernesta Chief Executive Officer Seychelles Qualifications Authority
Transcript
Issue 19 January 2016
Welcome to the third and last edition of our Newsletter for the year 2015!
As I ponder on the accomplish-ments of the SQA for the year, I realise that it has travelled far and even walked the extra mile despite the ever present chal-lenges. I thank the SQA staff members for their hard work, dedication, commitment and team work that prevailed to en-sure that successes overcome the odds.
The populace has become in-creasingly conscious of the prominence of the Authority in the protection of the interest of learners. This has been made evident by the number of emails virtually daily requesting that the Authority verifies the status of overseas education and training providers prior to enrolment on programmes or short training on offer by the providers. Also, the SQA has welcomed a number of clients and attended to requests from work organisations for pur-pose of evaluation or certifica-tion of true copy of qualifications.
The third trimester has been quite eventful. The SQA hosted a del-egation of two senior officers from the Mauritius Qualifications Au-thority (MQA). The highlight of the visit was the half day workshop on Recognition of Prior Learning which was animated by the MQA delegation and included partici-pants from Professional Centres. The two countries were eager to share knowledge and experienc-es and to learn from each other.
There was also an Accreditation Visit at the Seychelles Business Studies Academy (previously the School of Business Studies and Accounting) in October. The pur-pose of this visit that lasted three days was to monitor progress made by Seychelles Business Studies Academy in implement-ing its action plan, developed to address the recommendations of the accreditation visit of 2012. The SQA Accreditation Team ob-served significant improvements in Seychelles Business Studies Academy since the last SQA re-view in August 2012. This is in-deed a major achievement for the Academy and subsequently the SQA.
The SQA continued to record pro-gress in the implementation of activities and projects within the scope of its mandate which we showcase in this final edition of our Newsletter for 2015.
As the SQA staff members got to-gether to enjoy the delicious end of year lunch, it was clear that the
Recognising your CompetenciesEditorial
Inside this issue Editorial
SQA Welcomes The MQA Delegation To The Seychelles
Institutional Accreditation
2015 in PicturesValidation Process of Programmes of Tertiary Education Institutions:
Recognition of Prior Learning - Update
Evaluation and Certification of qualifications
Pages
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2
5
6
8
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10
team spirit that has earned us remarkable successes in 2015 would remain our driving force to-wards other great achievements in 2016 and beyond.
IntroductionIn the context of the Agreed Min-utes of the Tenth Session of the Mauritius-Seychelles Commis-sion on Bilateral Cooperation adopted in Mauritius in Septem-ber 2013 and the Exchange Pro-gramme between the Mauritius Qualifications Authority (MQA) and the Seychelles Qualifica-tions Authority (SQA), the latter hosted the visit of a delegation from the MQA from the 06th to 10th October 2015. The MQA delegation met and discussed with officials of the SQA, the Ministry of Education and the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC). The delegation also fa-cilitated a half day meeting on Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) and visited three Profes-sional Centres.
The delegation from Mauritius arrived in the country on Tues-day 06th of October 2015 and comprised of the following MQA Officers: Mr. Vijaye Ramchurn - Manager Framework ServicesMr. Subiraj Bhunjun – Manager Learner Attainment and Infor-mation Services
First Day of the Visit In the morning of Wednesday 07th October, MQA and SQA of-ficials met for the first working session. The points discussed included: Alignment of MQA and SQA Qualifications Frameworks Benchmarking of the quality assurance processes of the MQA and the SQA Learner database.
The SQA briefed the visiting del-egation on the work of the Au-thority in the development and maintenance of the Seychelles National Qualifications Frame-
SQA Welcomes the MQA Delegation in the Seychelles
work (NQF). They were also in-formed on new developments in the Tertiary education landscape in Seychelles.
The MQA Officers gave an over-view of ongoing work at the MQA. Their presentation touched on award and credit bearing cours-es, and database of learners amongst other issues. Both par-ties exchanged information on processes for validation of train-ing programmes, accreditation and unit standards development.
In the context of mobility of learn-ers, the issue of mutual rec-ognition of qualifications was discussed at length. The MQA Officers talked on a project be-ing undertaken at the MQA in the area of benchmarking of quali-fications with the support of the World Bank. The idea behind the project is to bring Qualifications Authorities of countries in the re-gion to work closer together to facilitate recognition of qualifica-tions. In this venture, MQA has already engaged with Malawi, Zambia and Mozambique. The alignment of NQFs it was noted will facilitate various processes for learners tak-ing further studies in coun-tries of the region. There was the need therefore to spearhead country to country agreement. After discussions on the align-ment of the Qualifications Framework of Mauritius and Seychelles, MQA pro-
posed to put together a Qualifi-cations Table that can be con-sidered by both countries. After lunch hosted by the SQA, the MQA delegation met with the Special Advisor to the Minister for Education who is also the Chairperson of the SQA Board.The Chairperson enlightened the visiting delegation on the major reforms that have taken place in education in Seychelles. He also shed light on other aspects of our education system including distance education. The Chair-person noted the increasing demand for access to distance learning. This development he noted is making it necessary for Qualifications Authorities to work towards harmonization of NQFs. In this light, the MQA Officers talked about work al-ready started at the MQA to ad-dress this issue. The discussion also focused on the necessity to tackle fake training programmes and providers. Training that is not officially recognised can af-fect learners thus the need for Qualifications Authorities to put in place mechanisms to protect learners.
MQA delegation meets with SQA Officers for first working session
MQA delegation meets with the Chairper-son of the SQA Board, Mr. Selby Dora
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Second Day of the VisitThursday 08th October the MQA delegation visited the Seychelles Institute of Technology (SIT)). The delega-tion was welcomed by the Director, Mr. Hubert Barbé who introduced the Management Team of the Institute. Mr. Barbé presented the Vision and Mission of the In-stitute and talked about its development plan. With regards to training at the SIT, the MQA Officers were provided with information on the programmes being of-fered and their level. The Director of the Institute pro-posed that exchange visits with institutions in Mauritius running similar programmes are organized. Exchange visits he noted are important in the sense that learners and lecturers from both countries can learn from each other and share experiences. The MQA Officers and the SIT team took this opportunity to share ideas and information on other possible areas for collaboration towards the development of technical and vocational education.
SQA Welcomes the MQA Delegation in the Seychelles (Cont’)
The MQA delegation next visited the Seychelles Mari-time Academy (SMA). They had a meeting with the Di-rector, Mr. Vikas Yadav and Assistant Director Captain Wilton Ernesta. There was lengthy discussion on how Seychelles can assist Mauritius in developing training programmes that will benefit the fisheries sector. The Director informed the visiting delegation that the SMA is now on the IMO White List. The Academy is working towards maintaining its international recognition and this involves close networking with the SQA to ensure that all its programmes on offer are validated. After the meeting, the SMA hosted lunch for the visiting delega-tion. Both visits ended with a tour of the institutions.
In the afternoon, the MQA Officers met with the Officials of the Tertiary Education Com-mission (TEC). They were welcomed by the CEO, Mr. Jean Michel Domingue who introduced the TEC Officers. The visiting delegation talked about the purpose of their visit to the Seychelles and their work at the MQA. On his part, the CEO of the Tertiary Education Commission made a presentation which highlighted TEC’s Mis-sion, Vision, its mandate, and the major achievements from 2012 to date as well as the challenges. As a Regulatory Body, he noted, TEC gets its directives from a Board comprised of 11 members. Its core business is the protection of learners. The Commission works closely with the Minis-try of Education, the SQA and Professional Centres. TEC’s key objectives for 2015 include the implementation of Charters for Professional Centres and a new funding model for tertiary education and training. As the meeting progressed other points were discussed. Information was also pro-vided on the TEC of Mauritius.
MQA delegation tours the learning facilities at the SIT
MQA delegation poses with TEC staff for a souvenir photo
MQA Delegation in discussion with SMA Staff
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SQA Welcomes the MQA Delegation in the Seychelles (Cont’)
Third Day of the VisitFriday 09th October, the MQA delegation facilitated a half day meeting on Recognition of Prior Learn-ing (RPL). Recognition of Prior Learning is a pro-cess of identifying a person’s knowledge and skills against a qualification or part thereof. The process involves the identification, mediation, assessment and acknowledgement of knowledge and skills ob-tained through informal, non-formal and/ or formal learning. RPL is indeed very high on the agenda of the SQA. From June 2014 to July 2015, the Au-thority has been engaged in the RPL Pilot with the collaboration of five Professional Centres. Learn-ing on how RPL is undertaken in Mauritius would serve to further enhance knowledge on the RPL process for both the SQA and the RPL facilitators of Professional Centres. Sixteen representatives coming from the Seychelles Institute of Technol-ogy (SIT), Seychelles Maritime Academy (SMA), Seychelles Business Studies Academy (SBSA), the National Institute of Health and Social Studies (NIHSS), the Seychelles Tourism Academy (STA), the Seychelles Institute of Agriculture and Horticul-ture (SIAH), Seychelles Institute of Teacher Edu-cation (SITE) and Seychelles Institute of Distance and Online Learning (SIDOL) attended the meet-ing held at the SQA conference room. This includ-ed the Directors of SIT, SMA, SBSA and SITE.
In his presentation, Mr. Ramchurn from the MQA gave an overview of RPL in Mauritius, a process which started in 2007. He gave detailed explana-tion on the various stages for RPL including prep-aration of the candidates, processes to compile portfolios and assessment of candidates. To date, a total of 316 candidates have applied for RPL in Mauritius, 64 have been awarded full qualifica-tions and 26 awarded part qualifications. Partic-ipants present at the meeting made the most of this opportunity to learn more on the RPL related issues from the visiting delegation. The MQA Of-ficers responded to queries on fees for RPL, the mode of assessment (in Mauritius assessment is done through interviews), training for RPL facilita-tors, funding for RPL amongst other queries. The participants expressed their deep appreciation for all the information on RPL obtained in the meet-ing. It was agreed that MQA will assist SQA with training of RPL facilitators now that the Authority is embarking on the necessary preparations towards
officially launching RPL in the Seychelles.
After the meeting, the visiting delegation proceed-ed to the Seychelles Tourism Academy (STA) for lunch hosted by the Academy. The delegation was warmly welcomed by the Principal of the Academy, Mr. Flavien Joubert who introduced Mr. John Stra-vens, the Chairperson of the STA Board, Mr. Claude Narain, Patron of the STA, Mr. Peter Moncherry, General Manager of STA’s Hotel d’Application, Ms Diana Quatre, Manager of Studies, Mrs. Kethleen Harrison, Quality Assurance Manager and Mr. Adrian Pillay from the Seychelles Tourism Board.
Following the welcoming note from the Principal of the STA, a few words from the Patron of the STA as well as words of thanks and appreciation from the MQA delegation and the SQA Officer, everyone proceeded to the table where a delicious buffet had been carefully put together. The visiting delegation could enjoy our unique creole food. Lunch was followed by a guided tour of the STA campus. The Principal of the Academy presented the ‘maquette’ of the new STA campus and gave detailed explanation with regards to training at the Academy and ongoing construction work. This was followed by a presentation on the Advanced Diploma in Hotel Management Programme.
Half-day meeting on RPL
The visitors meet with the STA Principal, Mr. Flavien Joubert and his team to discuss the work of the institution
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The Manager of Studies talked about STA’s train-ing partnership with Shannon College in Ireland, studies in general at the Academy and the opportu-nities for students studying at the Academy which include scholarships for STA graduates. The MQA Officers were briefed on other activities undertak-en at the Academy and the plans of the institution for the future. The meeting served also to discuss on possible avenues for collaboration. It is to be noted that the STA has exchange programmes in place with tourism establishments in Mauritius. At the end of the meeting the MQA Officers expressed heartfelt thanks and appreciation to the STA Princi-pal and the Management Team for their hospitality.
The Way Forward The areas for collaboration between the MQA
and SQA were identified as follows: MQA will assist the SQA with training of RPL
facilitators and facilitate training in Portfolio development for RPL
Exchange of unit standards for programmes that have been developed
Exchange of information on Evaluation of quali-fications
Sharing of Policies and Guidelines developed Sharing of information on movement of
learners.
At the end of their visit, the MQA delegation pre-sented a token of gratitude to the CEO of the SQA. The delegation expressed deep appreciation to the SQA for the invitation and for organizing the visit which they described as very fruitful. The SQA on its part ensured that the MQA delegation dis-covered the beautiful scenery of Mahé island be-fore leaving the country on Saturday 10th October 2015.
SQA Welcomes the MQA Delegation in the Seychelles (Cont’)
Composition of the Accreditation Team
Institutional AccreditationInstitutional accreditation certifies, for a specified period of time, that an institution fulfils the quality requirements of the Seychelles Qualifications Au-thority and has the capacity to provide education and training programmes leading to the award of qualifications to be registered on the Seychelles National Qualifications Framework; and to assess the performance of learners participating in such programmes.
In October, the Accreditation Team of the SQA conducted an Accreditation Visit at the Seychelles Business Studies Academy (previously the School of Business Studies and Accounting). The purpose of this visit that lasted three days was to monitor progress made by Seychelles Business Studies Academy in implementing its action plan, devel-oped to address the recommendations of the ac-creditation visit of 2012.
MQA delegation and SQA Officer pose for a souvenir photo with STA Officers
It is very encouraging to note that the Accreditation Team observed significant improvements in Sey-chelles Business Studies Academy (SBSA) since the last SQA review in August 2012. The SBSA will over the year 2016 address the matters that the Team has identified as needing further atten-tion. The Academy has already developed its ac-tion plan and the SQA is confident that by 2017 the institution will have fulfilled the quality requirements and reached the standard for award of full accredi-tation status.
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SQA concludes its work with the National Conservatoire for Performing Arts in regards to the development of Unit Standards for the Traditional Music Programme.
The CEO of the SQA attends the VUSSC TQF Meeting in Malaysia
SQA Officer talks to SALS students
2015 in Pictures
June
March
April
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MQA and SQA Officers visit Seychelles Maritime Academy (SMA)
The SQA Accreditation Team poses for a souvenir photo
SQA Officer participates in SADC Regional Meeting
Exchange of gifts between MQA and SQA as a sign of gratitude at the end of the visit of the MQA delegation
October
August
July
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Programme Validation ap-proves for a certain period of time, a specific education and training programme, offered by an education and training pro-vider which leads to the award of a specific qualification or part qualification to be registered on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF).
For the period September to end of December 2015 the SQA looked at thirty-seven (37) Ap-plications for Programme Valida-tion of which several were resub-missions. Of these, twenty-three (23) have been awarded full vali-dation status.
By validating a qualification or credit bearing course, the SQA has ensured that the qualifica-tion or course has met certain national quality assurance crite-ria which enable it to be regis-tered on and at a specific level of the National Qualifications Framework (NQF).
A qualification / course regis-tered on the NQF means that there can be confidence that the qualification / course is at the level at which the provider or in-stitution has pitched it.
We end the year 2015 with an overall total of fifty-seven (57) programmes (inclusive of four short credit bearing courses/part qualifications) that have been awarded the status of full valida-tion.
Throughout the year, the SQA has been working with institu-tions to ensure that their pro-grammes achieve full validation status and the accomplishment is encouraging.
Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) is a process of identifying a person’s knowledge and skills against a qualification or part thereof. The process involves the identification, mediation, as-sessment and acknowledgement of knowledge and skills obtained through informal, non-formal and/or formal learning. Countries across the globe are devoting more and more attention to the development and implementation of RPL in response to the grow-ing demands for RPL from em-ployees and self-skilled workers who aspire to have their compe-tencies and skills recognised for personal and professional ben-efits.
People in the Seychelles are now more aware of RPL and its benefits. In line with SQA’s legal mandate to “evaluate and moni-tor the process of recognition of competencies acquired through formal, informal and non-formal learning”, the Authority has taken the necessary steps towards the development of RPL in the coun-try and has engaged itself in a se-ries of activities as summarized below:
• Secure part funding from UNESCO for consultancy to review SQA’s Manual and Policy Guidelines on RPL (in 2013)
• Conduct a sensitization meeting on RPL and its benefits for stakeholders in September 2013.
• Conduct training for RPL personnel within the tertiary education and training in-stitutions. The training was led by a consultant from the South African Qualifica-
Validation Process of Programmes of Tertiary Education Institutions
Recognition of Prior Learning tions Authority (SAQA) in October/November 2013 and January 2014
• Review the Manual and Policy and Guidelines for RPL to produce two draft documents; the Policy on RPL and the Guidelines for the Implementation for RPL. The documents were revised by the SAQA consultant and submitted in March 2014.
• Draw up an Action Plan to Pilot RPL. The RPL Action Plan which was approved by the SQA Board was pre-sented to RPL Personnel in Post Secondary institu-tions in April 2014.
• Sensitize applicants for the RPL Pilot on the RPL process including Portfolio development in June/July 2014.
• Conduct a two-day work-shop on Portfolio Assess-ment and Credit Transfer for RPL Coordinators, As-sessors and Moderators in October 2014.
• Assist and support the Pro-fessional Centres imple-menting the final stage of the RPL Pilot from October 2014 to July 2015.
The final stage of the RPL pilot was implemented by the five Professional Centres involved in the process. They had to as-sess the candidates, moderate the assessments, address pos-sible cases of appeal and com-pile the outcome of the Pilot in a report that they had to submit to the SQA.
The object of education is to prepare the young to educate themselves throughout their lives. By: Robert M. Hutchins
Eighteen candidates applied for RPL. Twelve undertook and completed the process. One candidate qualified for the Diplo-ma in Bio-Medical Sciences and another one qualified for the Ad-vanced Certificate in Masonry. Ten other candidates are being assisted by the respective Pro-fessional Centres to complete between two to four outstanding units of the programme against which they are being RPL’d. Successful completion of the units will allow them to qualify for the qualification. Five can-didates will be able to follow the RPL process for a qualification at a level lower than the level (Di-ploma) for which they have ap-plied.
The results of the RPL Pilot were presented and discussed in a meeting organized in October 2015. Coordinators, Assessors, Moderators and Heads of Pro-fessional Centres had the op-portunity to comment on the RPL Pilot exercise, point out areas in the process for improvement and share ideas on RPL.
The RPL Pilot has indeed been a critical and necessary exercise as it has allowed the SQA to use information gathered during the Pilot in the finalization of the pol-icy and guidelines documents. The SQA anticipates focussing on providing more training on RPL as its next activity. The aim
Recognition of Prior Learning
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is to have a pool of trained RPL personnel to effectively undertake the process. Trained RPL personnel and sufficient funding, will guarantee that RPL moves to a new level when launched nationally.
Participants share their experience of RPL
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Evaluation and Certification of Qualifications
The SQA assumes the functions of National Recognition Information Centre (NARIC) in the country. The Authority assists learners, the general public and organizations in the delivery of the services of Evalua-tion and Certification of qualifications.
Certification of Qualifications Certification of qualifications is a process which establishes the authenticity of qualifications. In the pe-riod of September to December 2015, a total of 125 qualifications have been certified true copy. This represents 502 qualifications less than the period from May to August 2015 when a large number of students were having their qualifications certified to pursue their studies locally or overseas. In this last trimester the Bachelor Degree is the highest on the list of qualifications certified.
Table 1 and Graph 1 below show the qualifications that were certified as true copy by type from Septem-ber to December 2015.
Evaluation of QualificationsThe process of Evaluation of qualifications establishes the level of qualifications in relation to the Na-tional Qualifications Framework (NQF). It is required that applicants submit their original certificates, transcripts of study and proof of identity to the Authority for this service. In cases where applicants are waiting for their original certificates and submit their transcripts of study for evaluation, the Authority will issue a Provisional Certificate of Evaluation valid for one year within which timeframe that the applicant can submit the original qualification for a complete evaluation. The Authority may also liaise with Award-ing Bodies (local or overseas) for additional information as required for evaluation of qualifications.
A total of 49 qualifications were evaluated from September to December 2015. The United Kingdom is the country of origin with the highest number of qualifications evaluated.
Table 2 and Graph 2 below show the distribution of qualifications evaluated by country of origin from September to December 2015.
Table 1 and Graph 1
Table 2 and Graph 2
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Within the SQA
Happy Birthday !!! Ms. Edwina Payet Ms. Joan Amade
SQA staff members who celebrated their birthday during the months of September to December. The SQA wishes all of you a very
Birthdays
Change your thoughts and you change your world. By: Norman Vincent Peale
