United Nations Day, observed on 24 October, offers an opportunity to reflect on education-related goals and commitments.
With 2030 now just over three years away, the Sustainable Development Goals are increasingly focused on how global commitments translate into practical action at the national level.
For education, Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4) aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. Target 4.3 specifically calls for equal access to affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education, including university, by 2030.
In Malta, this ambition sits within a national regulatory and quality assurance framework that supports the quality, transparency and recognition of further and higher education.
From global commitment to national practice
Malta’s National Strategic Action Plan for Further and Higher Education 2022–2030 sets out a vision for a dynamic and resilient knowledge ecosystem, with an innovative, inclusive and quality-driven further and higher education sector. Its priorities include participation and access, educational attainment, quality and transparency, relevance, digital and green transition, and internationalisation.
Within this context, four functions are particularly relevant: licensing, accreditation, quality assurance and recognition.
Licensing: a regulatory foundation
Under Malta’s regulatory framework, education institutions offering further or higher education in or from Malta require a licence issued by the Malta Further and Higher Education Authority (MFHEA) to operate.
MFHEA describes provider licensing as the formal acknowledgment of an educational institution’s status, legitimacy, and appropriateness. It also states that licensed institutions have met the standards and guidelines established by the Authority.
Licensing therefore provides an important regulatory foundation for education provision and gives learners and other stakeholders information about providers operating within the regulated system.
Accreditation: supporting programme quality and transparency
Programme accreditation provides a further layer of oversight. MFHEA states that accreditation of educational entities providing accredited or recognised further and higher education courses is a legal requirement under S.L. 607.03. Courses are referred to as accredited when they have been assessed by MFHEA and pegged to the Malta Qualifications Framework (MQF).
This creates a link between programme provision and Malta’s national qualifications framework, supporting greater transparency around the level and status of qualifications.
Quality assurance: supporting quality enhancement
Quality assurance extends beyond the initial licensing or accreditation of a provider or programme.
Under Malta’s regulatory framework, MFHEA carries out licensing, accreditation and quality assurance functions, supported by its Quality Assurance Committee and external quality assurance processes.
Quality assurance therefore provides an additional mechanism through which providers and programmes are assessed against established requirements and through which quality enhancement can be supported.
Recognition: making qualifications comparable
The Malta Qualifications Recognition Information Centre (MQRIC), within MFHEA, is the competent body responsible for recognising qualifications against the Malta Qualifications Framework.
MQRIC provides recognition and comparability advice for academic and vocational qualifications using both the MQF and the European Qualifications Framework (EQF). It also assists with the recognition of Maltese qualifications abroad.
This supports greater transparency and comparability of qualifications for learners, employers and education institutions.
What does this mean for SDG 4.3?
Licensing, accreditation, quality assurance and recognition do not, on their own, achieve SDG 4.3. Access and affordability also depend on wider social, economic and individual circumstances.
However, these mechanisms contribute to a system in which:
- education providers operate within an established regulatory framework;
- programmes can be assessed and referenced to the MQF/EQF;
- quality assurance supports assessment and quality enhancement;
- qualifications can be recognised and compared; and
- learners and other stakeholders have greater transparency about education provision and qualifications.
Together, these functions form part of the wider infrastructure supporting a credible and transparent further and higher education system.
Looking towards 2030
As 2030 approaches, the focus is not only on expanding educational opportunities, but also on ensuring that those opportunities are supported by appropriate standards, transparency, quality assurance and recognised qualifications.
Licensing provides the regulatory foundation; accreditation assesses programmes against established requirements; quality assurance supports ongoing attention to quality; and recognition helps qualifications become more transparent and comparable.
These functions are an important part of the wider framework through which Malta can support the quality and credibility of further and higher education as 2030 approaches.
If you want to learn more visit: www.mfhea.mt