Jamaica has developed its National Qualifications Framework (NQFJ) under the leadership of J-TEC. Responsibility for the governance and implementation of the NQFJ also lies with J-TEC.
This will help students to locate the value of whatever credentials they receive and to compare these with similar qualifications in other countries. This is important to the qualifications being recognised in other countries.
What is a Qualifications Framework?
- An instrument for the classification of qualifications.
- Integrate and coordinate qualifications subsystems, and improve the:
- Transparency
- Access
- Progression
- Comparability
- Quality of qualifications in relation to the labour market and civil society.
National Qualifications Framework of Jamaica (NQFJ)
The JNQF is intended to provide recognition and credit for all learning of knowledge and skills and will provide the basis for evaluating and positioning various types of qualifications across the spectrum of the education and training system. As the unit responsible for housing the NQF, JTEC will be responsible for:
- Maintaining a Register of qualifications from primary to tertiary level.
- Determining whether qualifications or parts of a qualification meet the national standards.
- Maintaining a credit scheme.
- Advising any person, body, institution, organisation or interest group on matters pertaining to qualifications and national standards for qualifications.
Purpose of the National Qualification Framework (NQF)
The purpose of the NQF is to:
- Improve the understanding of the education and training system as a whole and its constituent parts.
- Promote access, transfer and progression into, within and between programmes of learning.
- Provide an instrument of accountability or control of the education and training system.
- Enhance the quality of provision, or make it more consistent.
- Promote improvement in the quality of education and training.
- Ensure uniform provision of competency-based training, assessment and certification systems.
- Provide an organised, coherent structure to the competency standards.
- Promote and maintain procedures for access to learning, transfer of learning and progression in learning.
- Provide a system of coordination and for comparing qualifications by relating qualifications to each other.
- Establish national standards of knowledge, skills and wider competences.
What will the National Qualification Framework (NQF) do?
- Consolidate the delivery of education and training under a single framework.
- Make it easier for learners to enter the educational system and to move and progress horizontally and vertically within it.
- Improve the educational quality in Jamaica.
- Expand access to learning and work opportunities for all.
- Enable learners to develop their full potential.
The following represents an update of activities related to the development of the National Qualifications Framework of Jamaica (NQFJ):
- Development of the NQFA series of consultations was conducted and a committee comprising representatives of various tertiary institutions was formed. Working groups with representatives from different aspects of the education sector were created within the committee.
- Stakeholder ConsultationsConsultations were held in Kingston, Mandeville and Montego Bay with representatives from all tertiary education institutions. One hundred and twelve (112) participants attended these sessions over the three-day period of March 23 to 25, 2015.
- A presentation of the NQFJ was made to Ministry of Education personnel at the Educational Services Division Meeting hosted by the Chief Education Officer on Monday, May 11.
- Draft Training and Implementation plans have been prepared.
- Training of trainers and stakeholders, preparation of the Cabinet Submission related to the NQFJ, and piloting of the NQFJ will be done.
