In order to achieve leadership in higher education, and to contribute to making the State one of the best in innovation on the international level by 2021, through ensuring the quality of higher education, offering the appropriate programs and specialties, training cadres to build a knowledge-based economy, and in the presence of his Excellency Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mubarak, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research and his Excellency Saqr Ghobash, Minister of Labor and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Qualifications Authority, the “Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research”, signed on Sunday 10th of January 2016, a Memorandum of Understanding with the “National Qualifications Authority”, with the aim of framing their cooperation according to their establishment rules, with regard to coordination and harmonization of the output of higher education qualifications at the level of the “National Qualifications System”, in addition to achieving the highest level of mutual understanding between the two sides in the various fields and serve the public interest, reflect positively on the two sides and on customers and society in general.
The Memorandum was signed on behalf of the Ministry her Excellency Fatima Zaabi Acting Undersecretary, and on behalf of the Authority Dr. Thani Ahmed Al Muhairi, Director General.
The Memorandum came in line with the framework of the general plan for higher education, according to the Ministry’s tasks from its establishment law to clarify the role of the two institutions through future projects, especially because there are a lot of common ground between the two parties to achieve an effective level of participation in education, training and scientific research activities, and to ensure the achievement of the comprehensive development goals.
According to the Memorandum, the two parties constitute a Joint Committee whose members are nominated by the parties, under the chairmanship of the Undersecretary, with the aim of promoting harmonization of higher education qualifications output with the levels of the national qualifications system, where the Authority makes these adaptations according to the form approved by them, while the Commission of Academic Accreditation in the Ministry in coordination with the Authority sets the application of the needed mechanism for establishing these qualifications in the qualifications database, to be issued by a decision of the Authority.
The Committee also facilitates the exchange of statistical data and information available to each between the Authority and the Ministry, regarding the licensed higher education institutions in the State, and the accredited programs, by building a standard electronic system to save data, which supports the joint cooperation area.
Regarding the recognition of vocational qualifications from outside the State, the Memorandum provided that the Authority will recognize it after their accreditation by the Ministry, according to the agreements signed between the national qualifications system and the systems of the countries those qualifications originated from.