Muscat: Oman Authority for Academic Accreditation and Educational Quality Assurance on Thursday launched a new standard under the name “National Programme Accreditation System (NPAS)”, a major project in the schema of educational quality assurance in Oman.
The inaugural ceremony of the NPAS was held under the auspices of Dr Rahma Ibrahim al Mahrooqi, Minister of Higher Education, Research and Innovation.
In the opening speech, Dr Jokha Abdullah al Shukaili, CEO of Oman Authority for Academic Accreditation and Educational Quality Assurance, said, “The National Programme Accreditation System constitutes a significant step forward in guiding the education sector in Oman to meet national priorities and objectives while at the same time maintaining international standards.”
Dr Jokha affirmed the existence of more than 800 programmes offered by 38 higher education institutions in Oman.
“According to the plan, each institution will be subject to standard assessments in the coming years,” said Dr Jokha, adding that this will be done through an open public reporting process.
The launch of the NPAS comes in pursuance of previous stages in building the national system for quality management in higher education, Dr Jokha explained.
She added that the process was undertaken in partnership with the higher education sector and stakeholders in Oman, as well as international experts with expertise in this field.
The overall aim of implementing the NPAS is to ensure that higher education programmes in Oman meet with national standards set by Oman Authority for Academic Accreditation and Educational Quality Assurance.
These standards cover all aspects of higher education programmes, including planning and management of each programme, the quality of teaching, the relevant facilities, student assessment and support services. The desired outcome will be the satisfaction of the public and regional and internal bodies.
The NPAS is a basic constituent of higher education assurance. The first beneficiaries will be the students, who will get proof of the quality of qualifications that they submit to employers.
The NPAS underlines higher education institutions’ keenness on advocating good practices and improving their academic programmes through self-assessment and sound, methodology-based planning.
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