National Accreditation Council Launched to Tackle Illegitimate Online Education in Belize

The National Accreditation Council was formally introduced and launched yesterday in Belize City.  The launch comes ten months after amendments to the Accreditation Bill was taken to the House of Representatives. In his presentation, Education Minister, Francis Fonseca had noted the influx of online studies triggered by Covid-19, many of which are being offered by illegitimate schools and institutions. At yesterday’s launch, Fonseca reiterated this point and went further by explaining the role of the council.

Francis Fonseca, Minister of Education: “Some of the key responsibilities of the council. One for example, A, registering the institutions both local and foreign which offer courses in Belize. So registering them, basic fundamental function. Maintaining a register of approved institutions, providers and courses. Accrediting and re- crediting programs of institutions operating in Belize. Validating new courses and programs of institutions operating in Belize. Advising on the recognition of foreign institutions, of education and training, and their awards. Very, very important function. I can tell you at the Ministry of Education every single day we get requests from Belizeans for support, assistance, scholarships to attend universities or institutions, educational institutes, I have to use the word very broadly because that’s what it is, educational institutions from every corner of the globe. Every corner of the globe. We get requests people want to study in the Czech Republic. People want to study in Germany, in Italy, in every country in the world, all over the Caribbean and very often we know nothing about these institutions. So this is important work. The public service, the Ministry of the Public Service, we are often engaged with them. We have public officers who very rightly and justifiably want to improve their educational levels. You know, when you improve your education level, of course, you go up a few steps on the salary scale and everybody wants that. Everybody wants a better quality of life for themselves and their families. So nothing wrong with that. But we have to be responsible for ensuring that these institutions that they are attending, it’s not fair to them, it’s not fair to the Ministry of Education, it’s not fair to the country if we are investing in people and we do not know and we do not understand the quality of the degrees, the certificates that they are getting.”

Minister of State, Dr Louis Zabaneh also spoke at the launch yesterday where he highlighted higher education as one of government’s priority.

Dr. Louis Zabaneh, Minister of State, MOECST: “As you all know I’m a proponent of sustainable human development which brings together sustainable development concepts and human development concepts. And there are four big pillars there, the economic, the social, the environmental, and the institutional. Now, we’re talking here about the institutional pillar. We’re strengthening our institutions by having an accrediting body that would be there to do the things that need to be done, working closely with all the stakeholders to attain those objectives and the missions of each of those particular institutions. Here are 14 areas, just in summary, that are important for accreditation. And these are particularly geared for the tertiary sector but certainly then we will talk about secondary and primary would have their own particular points. So basic things like the principles of integrity. What are the missions of the institutions? What gives the institution the basic legal right to do what it’s doing? Authorization to grant degrees. The governing body of the institution is very important. Administration and organization, that’s another critical area. The faculty. meaning the teachers, right, those people who are engaged in the leading with teaching. Then institutional planning and effectiveness, how is that being addressed? Student achievement, how do you measure that and how do you make adjustments as you go along? Education program structure and content. Education policies and procedures. Library and learning information resources. Academic and student support services. Financial and physical resources, and transparency and institutional representation. As you see it’s quite an array of things that falls under this very critical area of accreditation.”

It is to be noted that the National Accreditation Council was initially introduced some 18 years ago, but was only done so on paper.