Hertta-Maria Amutenja
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Joint Committee of Ministers responsible for Education, Training, Science, Technology and Innovation has endorsed the recommendations from UNESCO to implement programmes in Open Science and Access.
UNESCO’s Recommendation on Open Science provides an International Framework for Open Science Policy and practice that recognises disciplinary and regional differences in open science perspectives.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the Committee of Ministers responsible for Education and Training and Science, Technology, and Innovation of SADC in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The meeting was chaired by Muhindo Nzangi Butondo, the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Chairperson of the committee. The meeting was aimed at reviewing progress in the implementation of the SADC protocols, policies and programmes related to these sectors.
In his opening remarks, Butondo shared the progress made by the DRC in the promotion of education of vulnerable people and the government’s various policy-based approaches to combat inequalities of access to basic services of lifelong education.
He further emphasised various projects that continue to contribute to youth employment in DRC. During the meeting, the ministers considered a Report from the Special Technical Committee on Certification and Accreditation Meeting which provides the roadmap for the various implementation strategies towards the implementation of the Southern African Development Community Qualifications Framework (SADCQF) over the next four years.
The committee proposed measures that include implementation and reviewing of the SADCQF Guidelines and Manuals on Recognition of Prior Learning, the SADC Credit Accumulation Transfers systems, and the SADC Recognition Manual; moving towards referencing rather than alignment to the SADCQF; and focusing on new developments namely on issues such as digitalisation, micro-credentials and common profiles of qualifications, amongst other things.
The meeting was attended by ministers and representatives from Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
