By Francis Chipalo
Zambia Qualifications Authority (ZAQA) Director General Mercy Ngoma says the institution has faced criticism from some stakeholders, with claims that the Authority “doesn’t know what it was doing.”
Ngoma made the remarks during a stakeholder consultative meeting held in Lusaka.
“We are being called names,” she told participants, as she defended ZAQA’s role in regulating qualifications in Zambia.
The meeting brought together key players in the education and training sector to discuss qualifications, standards, and quality assurance.
Ngoma reiterated that one of ZAQA’s core mandates is the registration of qualifications. Under the Zambia Qualifications Authority Act No. 8 of 2024, awarding bodies cannot issue a qualification unless it is registered with ZAQA.
The law is intended to ensure all qualifications in Zambia are quality-assured, meet minimum standards, are recognised nationally and internationally, and protect learners by guaranteeing mobility and recognition of their certificates.
Issuing unregistered qualifications is an offence punishable by a fine of up to K200,000 or imprisonment for up to five years.
