Haramaya University Academic Assessment and Quality Assurance Directorate conducted a national validation workshop on March 9, 2022 on two documents; Learning- Teaching Policy and Guide Line for Teaching Material Preparation, Evaluation and Approval.
Dr. Garkebo Basha, Haramaya University academic assessment and quality assurance directorate director, said in his welcoming speech that the purpose of the workshop is to enrich the two documents with valuable comments and making them to the standard to serve the purpose they are intended for.
Dr. Garkebo added that the directorate is mandated to ensure the quality of education at Haramaya University (HrU) in collaboration with other concerned offices in line with its clear mission, vision, core values and goals. In this regard, the directorate found it urgent to validate the documents and make use of different pertinent educational guidelines, policies and standards to properly lead the learning-teaching process and ensure the quality of education at HrU. Critically reviewing and validating the two documents is one of important educational inputs and is hoped to play important role to sustainably guide the learning-teaching process, improve teachers’ performances and thus enhance students’ competencies and their academic achievements, told the director.
Professor Jeylan Wolyie, Vice president for administration and students’ affairs, and delegate of the University’s president, said in his opening speech that validated learning-teaching policies and guidelines for preparing, evaluation and approving instructional materials are vital to give important meaning to educational discourse such as quality teaching and learning, access to good quality education, engaged and transformative learning and meaningful learning outcomes and inspire the youths with sense of purpose and agency and equip them with the competencies, skills, attitudes and values they need to create a better future for themselves and those around them. Such issue is a welcome divorce from the longstanding culture of producing such materials haphazardly without following standard formats, principles curriculum frame works and instructional processes and strategies, and ways of maximizing learning, according to Professor Jeylan.
Likewise, Dr. Tesfaye Lema, Vice president for research affairs, explained in his closing remark that validated guideline for teaching material preparation, evaluation and approval and the learning-teaching policy document presented, reviewed and discussed today can be cited as example of quality assurance mechanisms we are putting in place. Moreover, availability of such documents facilitates internationalization of our postgraduate programs as we are doing at ACE climate SABC, and it can be adopted to post graduate students’ handbook, added Dr. Tesfaye.
In the workshop, the two documents were presented. Following this, comments, constructive criticisms and suggestions were forwarded and questions were raised from external reviewers (from Addis Ababa University), internal reviewers, invited guests and staffs who attended the validation workshop.
By: Aweke Ayalneh
Camera: Tewodros Lishan