Regional collaboration strengthens SITESA quality assurance systems

Regional collaboration is helping the Solomon Islands Tertiary Education and Skills Authority (SITESA) strengthen its quality assurance systems for tertiary education and skills development.

SITESA Chief Executive Officer Constance Nasi made the comments after participating in the Second Regional Roundtable with National Quality Assurance Agencies in Apia, Samoa, in June.

The roundtable brought together national quality assurance agencies and education and training authorities from Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. It was also attended by representatives from the Pacific Community’s Educational Quality and Assessment Programme (EQAP) and Pacific Australia Skills.

SITESA coordinates and quality assures tertiary education and skills development in Solomon Islands. Established six years ago, the Authority began working with the Samoa Qualifications Authority (SQA) last year, receiving technical expertise and personnel support to assess program accreditation applications.

“If we really want to strengthen Pacific education, our strength is each other,” Ms Nasi said. “We need to look within the Pacific family because the context of other Pacific Island countries is closer to our own.”

She said regional cooperation, supported by Australia through Pacific Australia Skills, would help national quality assurance agencies build capacity, become more self-reliant and reduce dependence on external assistance.

“No Pacific quality assurance agency should be left behind. We are a Pacific family, and when we can help each other, we should,” Ms Nasi said.

About SITESA

The Solomon Islands Tertiary Education and Skills Authority (SITESA) is a statutory authority established under the Solomon Islands Tertiary Education and Skills Act and sits under the Minister for Education and Human Resources Development.

The SITESA Bill was passed by the Solomon Islands Parliament in 2017, and the Act commenced by Government Gazette on 23 September 2019. The Authority’s objective is to ensure tertiary education and skills development respond to Solomon Islands’ future need for a highly skilled and productive workforce that contributes to national economic and social development.

SITESA provides leadership and governance for national tertiary skills strategy, policy development and implementation, private sector engagement, tertiary and vocational skills development, sector planning, regulation, funding and grants, and capacity development across the tertiary and vocational education sector, including higher education.

SITESA’s governance board includes strong representation from the private sector, including employers of graduates from tertiary providers.

SITESA now manages funding for the tertiary sector, including the Government’s scholarship program, operational and grants funding for Solomon Islands National University and the University of the South Pacific, and funding for Rural Training Centres. The SITESA legislation does not affect legislation covering Solomon Islands National University or other related stakeholders unless specifically mentioned in the Act.