Tertiary institutes urged to upgrade

 TERTIARY institutions  in the country will face closure if they fail to upgrade themselves and be on par with global market demands.

Acting Minister for Higher Education, Science, Research and Technology Don Polye said this in a statement, adding that they must accre­dit their institutions and 

programmes at five-year intervals starting next year to be on par with global labour market demands.

“Failure to do so will result in their closure,” he said.

Polye said students today were more attuned 

to the latest technology and globalised via the internet and social networks such as Facebook.

He said they were becoming more conscious of what they were missing out on in terms of course programmes and quality.

“Therefore, you and I can no longer pretend,” Polye said.

He urged the vice-chancellors to take into account the rapid changes in the information communication technology and develop quality human capital in line with the global market and international standards.

The acting minister added that to drive this strategic thinking, programmes in each discipline must be accredited.

“For instance, professional programmes such as engineering must seek accreditation through the Washington Accord, Sydney Accord and Dublin Accord in order to be industry or market driven,” Polye said.

He said these programmes did not meet the international accords.

He has, therefore, instructed the ministry’s director-general Prof David Kavanamur to take the necessary steps in accrediting these professional programmes. 

Polye said the government was committed to developing human capital and had made a commitment to provide a rescue package to modernise the higher education sector.