By: Emmanuel Mbowa
Freetown, 20th October 2025- Sierra Leone’s higher education leaders have called for the full implementation of new continental quality assurance standards to address system constraints and boost the sector’s international competitiveness.
The call came from Professor E. J. J. Momoh, Chairman of the Conference of Vice Chancellors and Principals, during the official launch of the African Standards and Guidelines on Quality Assurance (ASG-QA) Dissemination Project at Limkokwing University in Freetown. Prof. Momoh warned that the failure to harmonise with globally recognised best practices has hampered the country’s higher education systems and its competitive strength compared with top-tier international institutions.
He stressed that adopting the new guidelines is “very key” to providing students and graduates with a credible qualification and ensuring “value for money” in their financial life investment.
“A high-standard education provided with qualified faculties, well-advanced curricula, adequate learning resources, including libraries and laboratories, and effective teaching methods, can only be achieved through quality and assurance mechanisms,” he added.
Paving the Way for AfCFTA, the move is also being championed as vital for Sierra Leone’s continental economic integration. Emmanuel Thinka-Kamara, Manager of Academic Audit and Institutional Affairs at the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC), said the Pan-African framework will provide a “level playing ground” for the country to sell its “intellectual properties across” the continent.
He noted that the unified standards would allow Sierra Leone to fully benefit from the African Union’s 2019 Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), adding that it would also facilitate the mobility of learners and staff members through exchange programmes. “If you want to move with goods and services in the African Block it has to be of the required quality. This is while adopting the ASG-QA is ideal across our higher institutions of learning,” explained.
The ASG-QA initiative, titled “Institutionalisation of Quality Assurance Mechanisms for Sustainable Growth,” is designed to introduce and contextualise international best practices across Sierra Leone’s higher education institutions. The project is pioneered by a coalition of international and regional partners, including the African Union, the European Union (via Global Gateway), the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), and the Tertiary Education Commission.
Flexible Framework for Compliance Thinka-Kamara explained that the Africa Standards and Guidelines are divided into three parts: Internal Quality Assurance, External Quality Assurance, and Quality Assurance Agencies. He clarified that the standards are “non-prescriptive,” meaning they do not impose a uniform set of rules but rather provide a flexible, overarching framework that institutions can adapt based on their specific priorities and resources.
He acknowledged the challenge of implementation, noting that while 12 higher institutions already have established Quality Assurance units, about 20 others still need to fully establish them.
The TEC, whose mandate includes developing policies and guidelines for the sector, said it will ensure full compliance by providing the necessary human, material, and financial resources to institutions.
The Vision: Accelerating Growth and Competitiveness
The Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) and its partners are working to boost the value of higher education in Sierra Leone. Stakeholders and the framework’s developers are looking forward to full compliance with the new standards, trusting it will accelerate institutional growth.
This compliance is anticipated to allow Sierra Leone to fully compete with top-tier education institutions across the continent and eventually benefit from the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) scheme.
