Guidelines on Implementing Qualifications Frameworks in Asia and the Pacific at Subject level

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is affecting learners, faculty and communities worldwide, with the most vulnerable affected first and foremost. Access to quality education is not a panacea, but it is the most powerful tool to help and empower people to overcome the most complex challenges of our time, whether it is climate change or a pandemic.

Building on  our years of stocktaking and the 2018 Guidelines on Developing Qualifications Frameworks, UNESCO is pleased to present its new Guidelines on Implementing Qualifications Frameworks in Asia and the Pacific at Subject Level. With generous support from the Republic of Korea Funds-in-Trust, the Guidelines capture an important way forward to accelerate implementation of qualifications frameworks and quality assurance at subject level.

The overarching purpose and the desired outcomes of the Guidelines are:

• Define and link quality assurance with qualifications frameworks for operationalizing quality tools at subject level in the Asia-Pacific region;
• Determine the dimensions and principles of quality assurance based on the lessons learned in two subject fields – educational studies and cultural heritage management;
• Highlight the challenges and potentials in implementing quality standards or achievement standards at subject level;
• Envision the way forward in implementing quality assurance arrangements at subject level as a shared responsibility within and between internal and external stakeholders to promote recognition, employability and mobility in the Asia- Pacific region.

As a laboratory of ideas, UNESCO is committed to an evidence-based approach to transform higher education systems and take action to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. To do so, industry and higher education leaders, entrepreneurs, faculty, alumni, and wider community stakeholders must have a meaningful role in reimagining futures of higher education. The supporting role of government in creating a fair and inclusive enabling environment is fundamental.

Going forward, UNESCO invites all stakeholders to share their experiences and struggles with implementing qualification frameworks to meet learner needs, and to make higher education more responsive. How these ‘quality tools’ are developed and used locally is critical. Please share your stories with us via social media, or via the Section for Educational Innovation and Skills Development, UNESCO Bangkok: eisd.bgk@unesco.org.