Tonga will soon have its own National Qualifications and Accreditation Board, to develop education programmes for high school leavers, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Education said yesterday.

Following the enactment of the Tonga National Qualifications and Acreditation Board Act on December 12 2007, it is expected that the nominees of a six-member NQAB will be submitted to Cabinet soon.

"The NQAB will be made up of three members from government and three members from non-government educational institutions, who will be responsible for the developing of post compulsory education or training in Tonga.

"A post compulsory education means education and training offered to and for students aged 14 years or more; who are not attending secondary school.

"This means that this board will set up a national qualification structure that will approve all certificates, diplomas and degrees delivered by all National Qualifications and Private Training Institutions in the country."

The spokesperson said that the ultimate aim of the board, "is to set up a standard of quality assured education that is of consistent standard recognised by the country and hopefully institutions overseas."

Registration

Under the National Qualifications and Accreditation Board Act all education providers should apply to the Board for registration in order to provide a post compulsory study in Tonga.

The board will maintain a list of those providers and will establish policies and criteria for the registration and for the accreditation of providers to offer post compulsory courses of study leading to recognised qualifications.

Application for registration must include syllabus, curriculum, teaching and learning components, the qualifications offered; the cost to the student for the course of study and time required; the qualification of staff offering the course; level of attainment gained at the conclusion of the course of study and the name of any twinning institution in Tonga or overseas which is involved in the delivery of the course of study.

The Ministry confirmed that only those who comply with the board would be allowed to offer their education and training in Tonga.

"This is an advantage because the new board will prevent any institutions that offer false training courses in the country thus assuring quality education is delivered and the course provided is credible," said the spokesperson. "The NQAB follows the New Zealand Qualification Authority Framework," she said.