Monitronic College defends accreditation status

The head of Monitronic Success College has once again come out to explain the accreditation status of the institution.

At a media briefing attended by officials from the Namibia Qualifications Authority (NQA), the school head, Daniel Nyaungwa, spoke out against the negative public perception of the courses offered by the college. Nyaungwa stated that the college offers franchise courses that are accredited in the country of origin and recognised in Namibia.

“The media writes out information but they are not well informed. The qualifications offered by us are not qualifications of Monitronics, they are qualifications from the UK and are accredited there. These are not Namibian qualifications,” said Nyaungwa.

In 2012, The Namibian reported that Monitronic was one of many tertiary institutions that had misled prospective students regarding their accreditation status with he Namibia Qualifications Authority. At the time, the NQA revealed that Monitronic was accredited as an institution and had further accreditation to offer certificate, diploma and advanced diploma programmes in accounting and finance as well as certificate, diploma and advanced diploma in travel and tourism from the Windhoek campus. At the moment, the NQA’s official website (last updated on 5 December 2013) still lists Accounting and Finance (Certificate, Diploma and Advanced Diploma [ICM]) and Travel and Tourism (Certificate, Diploma and Advanced Diploma [ICM]) as the only programmes accredited at the institution.

Nyaungwa made it clear that the courses they offer are of the same standing as those being studied by someone in Zimbabwe, the UK and Australia. He stated that the college is thus just a teaching centre. “All we do is teach. The awarding of the qualifications is done by the accrediting bodies.”

Nyaungwa informed media representatives that since the qualifications are accredited in the country of origin, it is not compulsory to register them with the NQA. “The courses are therefore just recognised and are of high quality locally and internationally.”

Nyaungwa further explained that these courses are then taken to the NQA for evaluation. “According to the NQA Act 29 of 1996, it is not compulsory to take these qualifications to the NQA, because the qualifications are already accredited in the country of origin. The courses therefore are recognised in Namibia but not accredited by the NQA. It is only courses accredited in the country of origin that are eligible for evaluation,” he said.

“The NQA will then give a letter of evaluation, which shows how the qualification compares on the Namibian National Qualifications Framework. An international certificate done through Monitronic Success College will be comparable as follows; Certificate – NQF Level 4; Diploma – NQF Level 5; Advanced Diploma – NQF Level 6, and the MBA – NQF Level 9.”

He advised the students who study oversees or anywhere in the world to make sure that the qualification they are studying are accredited in that country or if the course is from some other country, it should be accredited in that country where it originates.

The college is currently in the process of developing its own courses and it has submitted the courses to the NQA for accreditation.

The process is said to be still ongoing and the courses will only be conducted when accredited.