Quality and Quality Management in Higher Educational Institutions in Ghana

Abstract

Intellectual discourse on the meaning of quality is varied, making the paradigm appear inexplicable. Some who have attempted to define quality have done so by considering the context in which it is used, while some others choose to define it in absolute terms. Quality in education has become highly desirous in Ghana, and stakeholders are demanding higher standards of training. The quality of education, as well as offerings of products and services in education, have now come to be decided by both the institutes and their clients, with the expectation of achieving customer satisfaction and maintaining client loyalty. Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) assure their patrons of being in good standing by undergoing rigorous internal and external assessments of their curricula, staff and infrastructure. This offers them the opportunity of gaining accreditation from the National Accreditations Board (NAB), the government’s Quality Assurance Agency on education in Ghana. This paper recalls the era when early industries took to modelling various sorts of quality as they tried to make standard products with minimal differences. Going forward, it discusses, the approaches adopted by universities and colleges, as well as regulatory agencies, to verify the reputation of these tertiary academies, based on each establishment’s particular model of quality. Legislation establishing the NAB and similar such agencies are quoted, along with their establishment purposes.