THE 6th SAQAN CONFERENCE LIVINGSTONE ZAMBIA 25th – 28th SEPTEMBER 2024
The 6th Southern Africa Quality Assurance Network (SAQAN) conference was well attended by many universities and Quality Assurance Regulatory agencies from Southern Africa. The GLOBAL QUALITY ASSURANCE ASSOCIATION (GQAA) was the only organization from Ghana and West Africa in attendance. The GQAA Director, Dr Violet Makuku, as usual donated 2 trophies that were awarded at the end of the event to, Dr Lits’abako Ntoi, the current CEO of the Lesotho Council for Higher Education (CHE) and Dr Jonathan Mukombo Tambatamba from the University of Zambia (UNZA) for their unwavering dedication to quality assurance over the years.
Whenever we have a GLOBAL QUALITY ASSURANCE ASSOCIATION (GQAA) event or where the GQAA is invited to be part of a conference, competition or workshop, it is inherent in us to contribute towards promoting good attributes displayed by excelling males & females through donating 2 trophies (ideally for 1 male & 1 female). This is meant to inspire others and propel the winners to do more. This is because one of the most important aspects of quality assurance are REWARDS & PUNISHMENTS. Punishments are meant to discourage vices & bad behaviours. Rewards are motivational and encourage repetition of virtues, good & desirable behaviours but it should not always be about financial and material gains. It could be a commendation letter, well deserved promotion, a standing ovation or just mentioning in public what somebody did.
There were a number of recommendations that were agreed upon during this event and these include but are not limited to having a week or month to focus on quality in Higher and Tertiary Education. Quality should not be limited to the quality assurance departments/directorates/unit but it should be everybody’s business and the QA custodians should also be subjected to QA audits. Institutional leaders need to be trained so that they get to understand QA fundamentals, operations and benefits and QA policies and documents should be well developed and reviewed regularly. Research should be at the centre of QA so that correct decisions informed by data, facts and correct information can be made. This is opposed to decisions based on perceptions, assumptions and personal biased thoughts, which result in loss of resources (time, money, material and human resources).
