Tonga National

Qualifications and

Accreditation Board

Christ’s University in Pacific (CUP) has

been granted provisional registration

for one year.

CUP is expected to meet all require-

ments for characteristics of university

within this provisional registration pe-

riod.

Christ’s University in Pacific is privately

owned by the Tokaikolo Church.(Siasi

Tokaikolo ‘ia Kalaisi) and CUP is the

tertiary division of the Tokaikolo Edu-

cation System.

CUP received a lot of external assis-

tance to upgrade its research activi-

ties. CUP also had a memorandum of

understanding with a university in

South Korea to deliver some of its pro-

grammes.

An evaluation panel will work with

TNQAB to confirm the research docu-

ments and to accredit the pro-

grammes submitted within this one

year of provisional registration.

Risk and Compliance Consultation

The first Risk and Compliance

Consultation for the Secretariat

was held at the Waterfront Res-

taurant on the 13th of October,

2017. The purpose of the consul-

tation was to present the TNQAB

Risk Management Framework

and invite representatives from

PCET providers to provide their

feedback on TNQAB’s Risk Man-

agement Framework.

The successful event allowed pro-

viders to voice out opinions

about the framework and other issues of compliance.

The Senior Risk Analyst, Miss. Siniva Samani it was a

wake-up call to have a situational analysis of potential

risks in the organization and with providers.

Provisional Registra-

tion for CUP

1

Risk and Compliance

Consultation

1

Quality Audit 2

internship 2

Applications in

Progress

3

Quality Assurance

Advisor—Document

Review

3

Ongoing Profession-

al Development

4

TNQAB Retreat 2017 4

China’s Aid Benefits

the Secretariat 5

Congratulations! 5

Inside this issue:

Christ University in Pacific—Provisional Registration

December 2017 Page 3

munications. The Audit cri-

teria included LIT’s Quality

Management System

(QMS), approval form, Unit

resources, workbooks, as-

sessment and moderation

validation and student rec-

ords.

Other institutions that were audit-

ed included Hango Agriculture

College, Tonga Police College,

Tupou College Technical and

Vocational Institute and Aho-

panilolo Technical Institute.

To confirm compliance with the ac-

credited qualification, TNQAB con-

ducted an audit on Lavengamalie

Institute of Technology (LIT) Certifi-

cate of Secretarial Studies Level 3.

The audit scope covered Develop-

ing Keyboard skills, Word processing,

Office practice and Business com-

Quality Audit!

Page 2 News from TNQAB!

Internship Ms. Siniva Samani, the Senior Risk

Analyst was fortunate to be

awarded a Short Term Training

Scholarship for internship at the

New Zealand Qualification Au-

thority (NZQA), funded by the

Government of New Zealand.

Ms. Samani was attached to the

Risk Division at NZQA as a Risk

Case Analyst from the 16th of Oc-

tober to the 16th of December,

2017. This was a once in a lifetime

opportunity for Miss Samani and

was the most rewarding training

experience ever. It is suffice to

say that she has greater confi-

dence now in what she is doing as

a Senior Risk Analyst at TNQAB.

She is also in a better position to

understand the procedures and

what is necessary to include and

put into place in order to make

TNQAB’s risk management more

effective and efficient.

Most importantly, establishing good

relationships and connections with

certain staffs at the NZQA Risk Division

was indeed a blessing. Her stay was

made more comfortable by the com-

pany and friendly, smiling faces of her

Mate Maá Tonga friends at NZQA.

Miss Samani also experienced

the rare opportunity to observe

in External Evaluation Review

and Accreditation visit to provid-

ers. Overall, the attachment was

an invaluable work experience

for her.

Miss Samani wishes to convey

her sincere appreciation and

thanks to the New Zealand Min-

istry of Foreign Affairs and Trade

for the scholarship as well as

Skills Organization , New Zealand

for organizing the internship. We

express our sincere gratitude to

the CEO of NZQA for the intern-

ship opportunity at your organi-

zation. We thank also all the

lovely staffs at NZQA who were

involved in her training during

those two memorable months.

Page 3 News from TNQAB

Quality Assurance Advisor for Document Review

The review of the Quality Assur-

ance Guidelines was conduct-

ed by Mr. Peter Sherwin, the Di-

rector of Arahanga Associates

Limited of New Zealand. This was

funded under the Tonga Skills

project of DFAT.

The review included Policies and

Guidelines for approval of Short

Courses, Guidelines for Registra-

tion of Post Compulsory Educa-

tion and Training providers.

Guidelines for Registration of Post

Compulsory Education and Train-

ing .

A new Guidelines for Recognition

of Community Learning in Tonga

was developed to enable Recog-

nition of community trainings.

The review is key to ensuring that

QA systems reflect international

best practice and respond to the

needs of local learners, providers,

industry and community at large.

Mr. Sherwin and Mr. Halalotoangi

Fonokalafi were able to collect

data from involved stakeholders

to further strengthen working rela-

tionship and promote quality edu-

cation at Post Compulsory Educa-

tion and Training (PCET) Providers .

Applications in Progress ...As of December 2017

Programmes—awaiting response from providers to

panel requirements

Programmes accreditation in progress

Pouono Campus of TTI Certificate in Marine Multiskill

Level 2

Pouono Campus of TTI Certificate in Electrical Level 3

TIST Certificate in Plumbing (Trade) Level 4

TIST Certificate in Welding Level 3

TIST Certificate in Panel Beating and Spray Painting Level

4

TTI Certificate in Information Technology Level 4

TTI Certificate in Music Level 4

TTI Certificate in Social Practice Level 4

TTI Diploma in Social Practice Level 5’

TTI Advanced Diploma in Social Practice Level 6

TTI Certificate in Teaching Level 4

TTI Diploma in Music Level 5

TTI Certificate in Community Youth Development Level 4

TTI Diploma in Business Level 5

OJTVT Diploma in Building and Construction Level 5

TIHE Diploma in Hospitality (Tour operation) Level 5

ATI Diploma in Counselling Level 5

QSINAH Diploma in Medical Laboratory Technology Level 5

QSINAH Advanced Diploma in Radiography Level 6

QSINAH Advanced Diploma in Midwifery Level 6

TIHE Certificate in IT (IS) Level 4

TIHE Certificate in IT (CS) Level 4

CUP Bachelor of Computing and Information Sciences

(Network and Security)

TIHE Advanced Diploma in IT (IS) Level 6

TIHE Advanced Diploma in IT (CS) Level 6

CUP Master of Forensic Information Technology

It was a refreshing time for

TNQAB staff, representatives from

providers and panel members to

attend the retreat on December

12th and 13th, 2017 at Davina

Convention Centre.

The purpose of the retreat was to

collect information and feed-

back to help with the revision of

the Corporate Plan 2018/19—

2020/21. Some of the key high-

lights of the retreat was the l dis-

cussion and sharing of ideas on

development of national qualifi-

cations. A sessions on the Perfor-

mance Management System was

also included as part of TNQAB’s

staff development activities.

Ongoing Professional Development

Mrs. Fololina ‘Ikani attended an Intern-

ship Programme for Quality Assurance

organized by the Malaysian Qualifica-

tions Agency (MQA) during October 9 –

13, 2017 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The internship focused on Higher Educa-

tion and Quality Assurance Systems in

Malaysia. Good practices and experi-

ences was shared from QA Officials from

Samoa, Mauritius, Brunei, Thailand and

Tonga. The internship provided an

excellent opportunity for Mrs Íkani to

gain deeper insight into accreditation of

higher institutions and institutional au-

dits in Malaysia.

TNQAB Retreat!

Page 4 TNQAB News!

She participated in site visits to universities, followed by series of presen-

tations on panel training and quality assurance best practices and experi-

ences in Malaysia. These activities provided capability development and

confidence in registration of universities and accreditation of degree pro-

grammes.

The retreat provided an excellent

opportunity for team building, net-

work and to socialize. The open

space sessions allowed staff to

share benefits and challenges

and discuss related matters to in-

form decisions and future plan-

nings.

The wellbeing of our staff is critical

to our success. Thanks to the ac-

tive participation and staff-driven

“Social Committee” who did a

great job engaging staff with an

awarding gifts formality.

Page 5 TNQAB NEWS!

China’s Aid Benefits the Secretariat

The People’s Republic of China has

provided training opportunites to

promote economic and social de-

velopment to Tonga. The Senior

Policy Analyst at the time Mr. Hal-

alotoangi Fonokalafi was fortunate

to attend a seminar on “Public Ad-

ministration and Public Policy” as

part of his professional develop-

ment at Remnin University in Bei-

jing.

Mrs. Tupou Pasikala, Qualifica-

tions Officer - Qualifications

Framework also attended the

seminar on “Business Data Col-

lected and Analyzed”. This semi-

nar helped her improve her

knowledge and skills of data col-

lection and analysis which is di-

rectly relevant to her research

roles at TNQAB.

Mr Samiuela Kolovatu is

congratulated for his ap-

pointment as Assistant

Qualification Officer,in the

Account.

Sam also

received a

special

promotion in

December from being a

young bachelor to a responsi-

ble husband. TNQAB warmly

welcomes your new family and

all the best for the journey

ahead.

Molisi City Central

Level 1

Salote Road

Nuku’alofa

Phone: 28136

Fax: 28138

E-mail:

info@tnqab.to

www.tnqab.com

TNQAB

CONGRATULATIONS!

Mr Halalotoangi Fonokalafi

is congratulated for his

new appointment as Prin-

cipal Qualification Officer,

Corporate Services.