Workshop to equip African universities with quality assurance tools held
A five-day workshop by the Global Quality Assurance Association (GQAA) has been held to equip participating African universities with practical tools to strengthen quality assurance in teaching, research and institutional management.
It was held in Accra from May 26 to 30, 2025. Participants included 30 delegates from three African Centres of Excellence (ACEs) of the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, Nigeria, and the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN).
Each university was led by its Deputy Vice-Chancellors; thus, DVC-Academic of ABU, Prof Raymond B. Bako, and DVC Administration of NOUN, Prof. Isaac Sammani Butswat.
Focus of workshop
The workshop was facilitated by the Director of GQAA, Dr Violet Makuku, whose focus was on areas, including benefits of quality assurance, key quality indicators, environmental cleanliness, and internal quality assurance systems.
Others were ways to enhance teaching and learning, research innovation, resource mobilisation, grant proposal writing, adoption of technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, stakeholder engagement and strategies for continuous improvement.
Each delegate was given a Certificate of Participation while the DVCs were awarded trophies each.
Quality management systems
Speaking to the Daily Graphic, Dr Makuku, who holds a PhD in Quality Assurance in University Education, stressed the importance of robust and comprehensive quality management systems and measures across African institutions, organisations and government ministries.
She also highlighted the GQAA’s mission as a non-profit organisation dedicated to advancing quality assurance across all sectors. “Our goal is to promote consistency in the quality of goods and services through knowledge sharing, institutional assessments, monitoring, evaluation, consultancy and capacity building,” she added.
The DVC of ABU, Prof. Bako, described the workshop as both timely and essential, particularly as African universities faced the challenge of balancing access, quality and relevance within constrained resources.
“Although our universities are doing commendable work in service delivery, funding remains a critical issue. To improve access, enhance quality, innovate and ensure educational relevance, resources are needed.
“By expanding partnerships, pursuing research/project grant proposal writing, strengthening alumni relations, inviting investment and drafting feasible plans, institutions can achieve this. Quality service is what inspires graduates to give back,” he said.
He added that sustaining excellence required a collective commitment.
“Every individual, from teaching and non-teaching staff to students, has a role to play in upholding standards,” he noted.
