-by Nakasia Logan
Caribbean and international educators and policymakers convened this morning at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre for the opening of the 22nd Annual Conference of the Caribbean Area Network for Quality Assurance in Tertiary Education, CANQATE.
Over the next three days, delegates will examine strategies to strengthen tertiary education and develop practical solutions to address emerging challenges in the sector.
Addressing the opening ceremony, past Chairman of Guyana’s National Accreditation Council, Mohandatt Goolsarran, underscored the importance of quality assurance in ensuring that tertiary institutions deliver education that meets the needs of students, employers and the wider economy.
He highlighted several challenges facing accreditation bodies across the region, including the growing demand for tertiary education, the need to modernise legislation, and ensuring the integrity of assessments in the age of artificial intelligence.
“We have to establish and enhance the mechanism to validate the integrity of assessment in the age of AI, what can we do to ensure that assessments are authentic? We need to also to focus on upskilling of our quality assurance evaluators we need expanded training,” he said.
Goolsarran also pointed to the shortage of trained quality assurance evaluators, the high cost of accreditation and the need for regional bodies to strengthen their capacity to monitor educational institutions.
He stressed that accreditation standards must also evolve to keep pace with technological advancements and changing demands in the workplace.
“We need to pay special attention and review our accreditation standards to ensure that we are keeping pace with the digital age. The range of conference papers to be presented will give us an opportunity look at both the academic side, technical side, legal side to ensure quality is maintained across the region,” he explained.
Established in 2004, CANQATE provides a platform for collaboration, professional development and the exchange of best practices among quality assurance professionals across the Caribbean.
The three-day conference is expected to generate discussions and recommendations aimed at strengthening educational standards and positioning tertiary education as a key driver of regional social and economic development.
