African Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ASG-QA)

Abstract

Harmonised quality higher education systems are imperative for Africa to realise the vision of an integrated, prosperous and peaceful continent. The African Union (AU) has, at the highest level, called for the harmonisation and strengthening of the quality of higher education in Africa to make it both locally relevant and globally competitive. This is in line with the AU’s Agenda 2063: “The Africa We Want”, and is an important instrument for facilitating the recently signed AU Continental Free Trade Area. These efforts are a culmination of Africa’s long time desire for harmonised higher education systems that can facilitate the mobility of trained people with accredited qualifications. Diverse systems of higher education have resulted in the lack of mutual recognition of university degrees, constraining academic integration and the mobility of students across the African continent. Collective endorsement of harmonisation and mutual recognition presupposes increased attention to quality and quality assurance in higher education. The rapid growth in the number of students and higher education institutions (HEIs), and the increased focus on employability, have made quality and quality assurance central topics. If Africa’s investment in the education of its youth is to reap demographic dividends, quality and quality assurance in higher education and training are essential.