Sana’a University and the Council for Accreditation & Quality Assurance organized a workshop to discuss and approve the standards of institutional accreditation of higher education institutions in Yemen.
5 January 2022
Council for Accreditation & Quality Assurance (CAQA), in partnership with Sana’a University, today organized a scientific workshop to discuss and approve the standards of institutional accreditation of higher education institutions within the framework of implementing the National Vision.
The workshop aimed to train participants, i.e., the deans of development and quality assurance centers, in public and private universities on the methodology of building institutional accreditation standards in accordance with the international standards, contributing to the education development and bridging the gap between outputs and the labor market.
The Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Mr. Hussein Hazeb, commended the efforts of the CAQA and Sana’a University for sponsoring the workshop to develop the requirements and controls that had to be put in place early to reform the programmatic and institutional status of public and private universities. He confirmed that the ministry has been seeking academic and institutional accreditation since 2017. He also pointed out that the Ministry and CAQA shall not license any new academic programs unless they have been accredited, so that they would be able to obtain local and international academic accreditation.
Furthermore, he regarded such a workshop as one of the most significant workshops to determine the eligibility of Yemeni educational institutions for international academic accreditation. The standards of institutional accreditation of higher education institutions are the basis for evaluating and accrediting the educational institutions.
The Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Dr. Ali Sharafuddin, pointed out that many Yemeni universities have become eligible for international academic accreditation; perhaps Sana’a University stands on the first place, because it has the potentialities and capabilities that enable it to obtain advanced positions in the global rankings. He added that obtaining academic accreditation is the first step towards institutional accreditation. He further called on the CAQA to speed up the procedures for registering the academic accreditation and obtaining accreditation from the World Federation for Medical Education (WFME).
The Rector of Sana’a University, Prof. Al-Qassem Mohammed Abass, considered the workshop a special step to discuss and approve the standards of institutional accreditation and to move towards the development of the educational system in order to keep abreast of the global changes and developments. He placed emphasis on the fact that despite the difficult circumstances due to the aggression against Yemen, the blockade on Yemen and the harsh conditions the faculty member and the educational system go through, it is onus on everyone to contribute to developing the academic programs and improving the educational process to ensure the quality of outputs that meet the needs of the labor market. Prof. Al-Qassem commended the efforts of all national officials and experts who participated in the preparation and development of these standards, which shall pave the way for international accreditation. He stressed the need to pay attention to the two basic education pillars, i.e., “student and faculty member” who are the basis of all standards. Their problems, especially accommodations and financial entitlements, should be solved in fulfillment of the requirements of WFME 2023.
The CAQA Chairman, Dr. Ahmed Al-Haboob, and the Secretary-General of CAQA, Dr. Mohammad Dhaifallah, presented the objectives and themes of the workshop to discuss the draft standards of the institutional accreditation of higher education institutions, so that the participants deliberate such objectives and themes and come up with the final standards. A number of the rectors of public and private universities attended the workshop.
