The Minister Delegate to the Minister of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Executive Training, Ms. Jamila ElMossalli, stated on Friday morning in Rabat, during the Board of Directors meeting of the National Agency for Evaluation and Quality Assurance in Higher Education and Scientific Research, that this body constitutes a strong added value for the higher education system in Morocco, and a national event of the first importance for the sector, given that the promotion of quality in higher education depends largely on the establishment of a monitoring and evaluation system.
The Minister Delegate indicated that quality is one of the foundations of the strategic vision for the reform of the education, training and scientific research system, of the Ministry’s 2013-2016 action plan, and of the Government Program. To this end, the Agency will be entrusted with important quality assurance missions through the evaluation of public and private higher education institutions, the evaluation of training programs with a view to obtaining or renewing accreditation, and the evaluation of the activities of doctoral study centers.
On this occasion, the Minister Delegate praised the great efforts made toward the promulgation of the law establishing the Agency, the appointment of its Director, and the development of the tools necessary for its operation, notably the draft internal regulations, budget and organizational chart.
For his part, the Director of the Agency, Mr. El Mokhtar BAKKOUR, stressed that the holding of the Agency’s first Board of Directors meeting represents an important step. It comes in a context marked by significant advances in the sector, notably the publication of the strategic vision for the 2015-2030 reform, developed by the Higher Council for Education, Training and Scientific Research, and the drafting of the framework law relating to this vision.
In a presentation made to the members of the Board of Directors, Mr. El Mokhtar BAKKOUR highlighted the main missions of the National Agency for Evaluation and Quality Assurance in Higher Education and Scientific Research, notably those relating to the evaluation of public and private higher education institutions, the number of which currently stands at 125 university institutions, 58 executive training institutions (including 29 institutions not under universities), and 212 private institutions.
Mr. El Mokhtar BAKKOUR added that the Agency’s missions also include the examination and evaluation of training programs with a view to obtaining or renewing accreditation, which currently number some 2,000 accredited programs for the public sector and 400 accredited programs for the private sector; the evaluation of the activities of the doctoral study centers, which today number 59 centers; the evaluation of scientific research and of the effectiveness of its 1,400 structures; and the evaluation of university cooperation programs and projects in the field of training and scientific research.
The Agency also carries out evaluations at the request of the ministerial departments concerned with higher education, scientific research or executive training. The evaluation carried out by the Agency consists of an audit of academic and institutional performance on the basis of quality criteria set by regulation, on the proposal of the Agency.
As a reminder, the agenda of this meeting covered the examination of the draft internal regulations of the Agency’s Board of Directors, the draft organization of the said Agency, and the draft of its budget.