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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal – Vol. 10, No. 4
Publication Date: April 25, 2023
DOI:10.14738/assrj.104.14367. Issa-Salwe, A. M., Mohamed, A. A., & Maah, S. A. A. (2023). Controlling Quality Standards to Enhance Educational Quality
Assurance. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 10(4). 153-160.
Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom
Controlling Quality Standards to Enhance Educational Quality
Assurance
Abdisalam M Issa-Salwe
East Africa University
Abdi Ahmed Mohamed (Baffo)
DhaxalReeb Center for Leadership Development
Said Ahmed Ali Maah
East Africa University
ABSTRACT
Most Somali educational institutions need to set up more structured and clearly defined curriculum
plans due to the need for a body to control quality education or create standards that help regulate
educational settings. Furthermore, educators need to be aware of the importance of curriculum in
their institutions. They should have clearly defined objectives or goals for what educational
institutions want to achieve in educating society.
A curriculum serves as a roadmap for an institution's educational objectives. It reviews how a
learning organisation establishes such objectives and guides how teachers plan instructions and
assess learners. It refers to the strategies and tools educational institutions use to lay out a course for
students to fulfil a curriculum's goals. It is also intended to help institution administrators manage
teachers and hold them accountable for their actions.
An institution which can help with educational quality assurance is the Education Commission
(EC). EC is the appropriate organisation tasked with developing uniform educational programs. An
EC can also act as a body overseeing national educational institutions.
The importance of curriculum creation will be highlighted in this paper with examples of situations
when EC has authority and can establish rules that educational institutions must follow. Finally, the
paper will try to address the following questions:
• How can EC establish criteria and requirements for educational institutions to develop high- quality curricula?
• How can EC monitor and evaluate the performance of all level educational institutions?
• How can EC advise institutions on how to design curricula that strike a balance between
teaching and learning?
Keywords: Education Commission (EC), Curriculum development, education quality assurance,
educational standards.
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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal (ASSRJ) Vol. 10, Issue 4, April-2023
Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom
INTRODUCTION
The education system in the Somali regions has undergone a significant revival since the early
1990s when the Somali state collapsed. As a result, education has changed in general. Several
developments have prompted these changes as these adjustments have allowed education to
advance extraordinarily. However, education experts have differing views over whether these
changes result solely from institutional needs or unintentional or local factors.
Despite the country's notable educational changes, most educational institutions in Somalia still
need well-defined quality standards. This is due to the need for a body, particularly at the federal
level, that would regulate education or develop standards that can be shared.
Another significant development that needs to be improved is the need for a focal point to revitalise
the nation's educational system. (Nuure, 2015) Other equally substantial areas, one of which is the
values through which the national curriculum is applied, need to be addressed by Somali educators
or, at best, need more attention.
WHAT IS THE EDUCATION COMMISSION?
The Education Commission is a body which frames the quality education and function of education.
Some of EC's duties will require the application of a legal framework while encouraging the growth
of learning and training institutions through equitable access, excellent results in learning and
research, effective use of available resources at home, and innovation. It should also include
establishing and registering education institutions, accrediting programs, conducting periodic
accreditation audits inside of education institutions, and recognising and equating education
credentials are all ways the regulatory framework should be implemented.
EC would have the statutory responsibility to determine the recognition and equivalence of
professional qualifications in education obtained. Recognition of qualifications is a process of
formally acknowledging the appropriateness of a qualification for a specific purpose, including
enabling the qualification holder to access further and/or educational and/or employment activities.
Equivalence of qualifications, on the other hand, is formally establishing whether two or more
qualifications are similar or deemed equal or comparable in value.
The EC would also provide strategic directions in developing the education sector, planning
division to collect data and assist in policy formulation, planning and decision making, and advising
on education. Promoting research in educational institutions and enriching the student experience is
also mandated.
WHAT ARE THE ROLES OF THE EC?
An EC's function should be to develop education policies by upgrading the educational institutions
in the nation to be the focal point of education, research, and development. EC should also enable
standardising educational quality by pioneering role development in a knowledge-based economy in
the nation.
According EC should be in charge of using its power to aid Somali education in applying the
standards they have established. Some of the functions that EC could do include:
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Issa-Salwe, A. M., Mohamed, A. A., & Maah, S. A. A. (2023). Controlling Quality Standards to Enhance Educational Quality Assurance. Advances in
Social Sciences Research Journal, 10(4). 153-160.
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.104.14367
1. Ensuring quality by international standards,
2. At the higher educational institutions offering academic degree accreditation,
3. Establishing minimal national standards across all sectors, including education, science and
technology, etc.
4. Setting minimum requirements for creating education institutions in the country.
5. Establishing minimum requirements for education curricula.
6. Creating equivalence of credentials, acknowledgement, and attestation of degrees.
7. Applying requirements for worldwide cooperation and connections to advance education.
8. Establishing national priorities and policies for the nation’s education system.
ESTABLISHING COURSE INTENTION
A formal educational credential established for students to follow is called a curriculum. According
to Andrade (2018), a curriculum is meant to have the following subject matter and structure:
• Goals: Skills, knowledge and attitudes are embedded with the learning experiences.
• Sequence: It is the order in which concepts are provided.
• Learners: The order of instructional methods follows the activities of learners.
• Instructional resources: These are the materials and settings for learning
• Evaluation: The methods used to assess student learning
• Adjustments to teaching and learning processes: Programs based on experience, evaluation
and development.
Standards serve various purposes and can cover almost all forms of education (Nuure, 2023).
Therefore, an educational quality assurance system and professional standards must be set to create
a standard that regulates and improves the quality of education. This process can help guide the
quality of instruction, learning environments, and educational experiences.
As mentioned above, an organisation fitting for standardised and educational quality assurance
could be the education commission (EC). With EC, the academic setting regulations should help
learners to be at the centre of assisting them to be involved in collaborative learning in a welcoming
and resource-rich educational environment. (Nils et al, 2012) By investing in the community and its
members, EC would help raise the standard of student learning.
One key strategy to have a standard educational setting is to raise the academic standards by using a
quality management structure, which encourages continuous enhancement of the learning
environment. The primary goal of this process is to improve quality assurance and enhancement
activity. As a result, the system will help develop a thorough and valuable method of evaluating
learning programs.
According to Dzeure (et al., 2010), standards are meant to obtain specific quality criteria which
dictate a common goal by creating efficiency in interaction. In this way, measures are intended to
develop a means to enhance coordination. (ibid) In this case, educational quality assurance
emphasises the importance of standards to improve education's effectiveness and quality. (Brunsson
2012; Dzeure, 2010) As a result, the system will develop a thorough and valuable method of
evaluating learning programs.