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The Council on Higher Education(CHE) in Lesotho has recently initiated processes of developing a coherent national higher education policy. Saide has been appointed to support the process. Ephraim Mhlanga reports on our initial engagement with the CHE.
In 2004 regulation of the higher education system of the Kingdom of Lesotho was formalised through the enactment of the Higher Education Act. This development was followed by the establishment of the Council on Higher Education in 2008. This Council was established through an Act of Parliament in order to:
- monitor the implementation of the policy on higher education in the country;
- publish information regarding developments in higher education on a regular basis;
- promote access to higher education by students and perform any other functions as may be assigned by the Minister of Education and Training;
- advise the Minister of Education and Training on any aspects of higher education.
The Lesotho government is also focusing on the quality enhancement of the higher education system as a way of ensuring that institutions produce graduates with high level skills and expertise that are relevant for the national economy and for the region. Thus,through the Higher Education Quality Assurance Committee (HEQAC), the CHE is also mandated to:
- Promote quality assurance in higher education;
- Audit the quality assurance mechanisms of higher education institutions in Lesotho;
- Accredit programmes and issue certificates of accreditation of higher education; and
- Monitor the performance of academic programmes and higher education institutions on an on-going basis.
In spite of its current limited staff complement, the CHE is poised to transform higher education in Lesotho. With the support of Saide, the Council recently initiated processes of developing a coherent national higher education policy as a way of ensuring efficient and systematic regulation of the system. The first step in this process involved the development of a concept paper that articulates a clear road map for policy development. This work was undertaken by the CHE and the concept paper went through formal approval processes by the relevant governance structures. The second stage involved holding consultative meetings with a wide spectrum of stakeholders on higher education issues that have a bearing on policy. These consultative meetings in which Saide is involved are currently under way and take place in various forms; meetings with individuals in key government positions, focus group discussions with people with a stake in higher education, workshops on key themes and issues that should shape the national higher education policy, and documentary analysis in order to gain understanding of the current environment in the country as well as good practice elsewhere. The consultative process is planned to be concluded at the end of November 2011 through visits by CHE members to districts throughout the country. Once the above defined processes are completed, a comprehensive situational analysis report will be compiled and the exercise of policy drafting will commence. The aim is to have a policy draft ready by end of March 2012.
Running alongside policy processes are initiatives that are aimed at enhancing the quality of higher education institutions in the country. In order to meet their quality mandate, the CHE has already initiated the process of developing quality standards that should be used by institutions in monitoring their performance. Like policy processes, the development of quality minimum standards for programme accreditation is also being done through consultation with stakeholders including higher education institutions. The use of clearly defined quality benchmarks for self-monitoring and self-improvement by institutions is fundamental to enhancing the quality of higher education in Lesotho. In all these efforts, the CHE's position is that the responsibility for quality enhancement lies with the higher education provider.
The establishment of a statutory body dedicated to higher education issues, the crafting of policy guidelines to regulate the system and the development of instruments for use in monitoring and improving the quality of institutional activities will go a long way in transforming the small Mountain Kingdom's higher education provision. |
