Responsible bodies
The main institutions responsible for ensuring the quality of adult education are:
- The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine (MESU), which develops and implements education policy, including that relating to adult education. The MESU sets standards, defines qualification requirements, and monitors and evaluates the quality of education programmes.
- The National Qualifications Agency (NQA), a permanent collegial body that performs functions in the field of qualifications, as defined by the Law of Ukraine on Education and other legislative acts.
- State authorities and local self-government bodies, which create conditions for formal, non-formal, and informal adult education. Local authorities may contribute to the quality of adult education by financing and organising adult education programmes.
Approaches and methods for quality assurance
Formal adult education institutions, including those offering postgraduate education, use the same quality assurance approaches as vocational and higher education institutions. For more information, see the chapters 10.1. Quality assurance in early childhood and school education and 10.2. Quality assurance in higher education.
In the context of vocational training for employees, retraining and/or upskilling courses, continuing professional development, and other components of adult education, the NQA supports quality assurance through:
- developing education and professional standards;
- designing procedures for awarding or confirming full and partial professional qualifications. It also develops procedures for recognising individuals’ learning outcomes, including those gained through non-formal or informal learning, via qualification centres. The NQA submits this draft to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine for approval;
- cooperating with education quality assurance bodies and institutions.