Qualifications authority drops professional body
Franz Gertze, Chief Executive Officer, Namibia Qualifications Authority (NQA), warning students and private training providers not to enrol and offer courses accredited to the Institute of Commercial Management (ICM). (Photograph by Mandisa Rasmeni).
NQA identified some discrepancies in the titles and structure of some of ICM registered on the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulations (Ofqual) the quality assurance body in the United Kingdom (UK).
Franz Gertze, Chief Executive Officer of NQA, said that the NQA has accredited five privately owned Namibian training providers that offer ICM programmes, ILSA Independent College, Monitronics Success College, Ondangwa Commercial College, Triumphant College and Katutura Community College.”
These institutions offer qualifications in different fields of study, namely accounting, finance, marketing, tourism, human resources and journalism and certificate and diploma level,” he said. “Therefore there are currently close to 2000 student enrolled in ICM franchised courses in Namibia,” he added.
Gertze emphasised that ICM made it clear that they are going to withdraw from Namibia because they do not want to operate in a regulated environment. Gertze also made it clear that current students may continue with their studies through to the first point of exit but not later than December 2014, accredited training providers currently offering ICM qualifications must seek for qualifications from alternative bodies and the NQA cautions all funding institutions from funding student enrolling for any ICM associated qualifications in or outside of Namibia.
The NQA alerts current and prospective students to be wary of unaccredited training providers, therefore students are advised to consult the NQA for the verification of the credentials of training providers before enrolling for their studies.
