PAQAA under HAQAA2:
Four stage development
A Technical Working Group, appointed by the AUC and financed by HAQAA2 between 2020 and 2022, developed a PAQAA Scenarios’ document, which proposed a four-phased approach to operationalizing PAQAA.
It is important to clarify that the videos were produced prior to the 2022 Consultation to elucidate the scenarios document in four languages. The final recommendations submitted to the AUC contained certain revisions to these materials.
Phases proposed:
Being the simplest of the four it could be promoted immediately. It intervenes in HE, in the PAQAF action lines related to QA & A, with the primary aim of promoting, faciltating collaboration and convergence between national QA systems. It could assume the role of capacity building related to the ASG-QA.
An interim technical unit could be hosted in an existing African quality assurance agency or organisation.
Builds on the previous phase and could also be operationalized immediately. It would also set up a register or clearing house for national quality assurance agencies which comply with quality with the ASG-QA and would evaluate nation QAAs on a voluntary basis.
It builds on the previous two phases but more complex in that it would confer to the PAQAA to accredit Pan-African institutions and HE transnational institutions. It could offer a voluntary program for institutional assessment aiming at building capacity for IQA with an alignment with ASG-QA and AQRM.
This is the long-term vision for the PAQAA in which it fully delivers upon its mission in overseeing all action lines of the PAQAF. PAQAA intervenes as a meta-agency not only for QAA, but supports recognition of HE between countries, using continental tools and frameworks. It would not be fully implementable immediately.
Consultations on PAQAA
The proposed four stage development for PAQAA was extensively consulted in 2022, under HAQAA2:
1. Consultation survey
Following the development of the scenarios for PAQAA, the TWG conducted a sector wide consultation survey on how to proceed. This was in four languages – French, English, Arabic and Portuguese. A website was designed with all background information on the PAQAA, the phases, as well as informative videos: (https://haqaa2.obsglob.org/consultationpaqaa/).
The survey was disseminated via targeted mailing to 1) national quality assurance agencies and ministries (through the HAQAA2 database), 2) relevant regional and continental higher education associations, 3) selected universities, especially those with a Pan-African profile, 4) Regional economic communities, 5) the contact points of the CESA Clusters. The purpose of this targeted dissemination was to reach the main stakeholders of the future PAQAA, and those that may have a stake in its governance. The survey questionnaire and the report on the outcomes of the consultation survey are attached as Annex 2. Many of the findings are referenced in this report and in the recommendations to the AUC.
3. Consultation in the context of the annual AfriQAN conference 2022
To follow-up upon the discussions of the Addis Consultation event, the TWG was offered a space within the programme of the annual AfriQAN conference (African Network for Quality Assurance, a pan-African network uniting QA agencies and quality professionals), in Maputo, Mozambique on 25-27 October, 2022. This was an occasion to present the scenarios again, clarify them, field important questions related to the functions, and address some aspects related to the governance.
2. Addis Ababa Consultation Workshop
To further explore the results of the survey and engage stakeholders in a dialogue around the next steps for the PAQAA, a stakeholder consultation workshop was held in Addis Ababa at the premises of the African Union Commission on 3-4 October 2022. This event was sponsored by the HAQAA2 initiative. Sixty-five stakeholders attended, representing 21 national QA agencies and national authorities responsible for accreditation, four regional higher education associations, two pan-African universities, four African quality assurance networks and two African student organizations.
4. Final HAQAA2 conference and HAQAA2 Advisory Board consultation
The TWG further presented its work, and especially a sketch of what the PAQAA governance and organization structure could look like, at the final HAQAA2 conference held in Accra from the 7th to the 9th of December 2022. The conference was attended by more than 100 participants from more than 31 countries. Key strategic partners who were represented included IUCEA, SARUA, CAMES, ANAQ-Sup/RAFANAQ, NAQAAE, and CNAQ covering regional and linguistical areas. The event engaged diverse stakeholders from the higher education sector at institutional, country, and regional levels. The conference was preceded by a meeting of the HAQAA2 Advisory Board, which gathered further important stakeholders such as UNESCO, the All-Africa Students’ Union and AUF. The TWG proposal was discussed by the Advisory Board and, based on the inputs received, was further refined prior to presentation to the conference participants on the 8th of December.
After Accra, the TWG integrated the feedback received, further deliberated, produced draft Recommendations of the Set-Up of the PAQAA, and shared these recommendations with the AB for final comments. An ad hoc meeting was offered to AB members on 26 January 2023 (virtually) where the proposal was discussed yet again before finalization.
Support for PAQAA under HAQAA3
HAQAA3 is an extension of HAQAA2 and will continue to provide technical support to the establishment of the PAQAA, with concerted stakeholder consensus. Activities seen under HAQAA3 are:
- Enabling a PAQAA technical Unit, to carry forward many of the main functions of PAQAA in the interim, prior to political establishment.
- Four regional focus groups with QA agencies and ministries, to further consult the PAQAA governance structure (2024)
- Convening a Statutes Drafting Group, which will support the development of statutes (2025)
- Setting up a PAQAA website and launching an information campaign
- Supporting discussions on how to judge ‘compliance’ with the ASG-QA in the context of external reviews of agencies.
- Advancing towards the establishment of a registrar of African QA agencies and authorities, and related Registrar Committee.
