By Staff Writter

The Zambia Qualifications Authority (ZAQA) has announced that it has verified more than 60,000 qualifications as of 20 December 2025, marking a major milestone in the authority’s efforts to strengthen quality assurance in education and training.

Speaking during the end-of-year media breakfast, ZAQA Director General Mercy Ngoma revealed that a total of 53,655 local qualifications and 5,482 foreign qualifications had been successfully verified. She said the achievement reflects the authority’s improved systems and growing capacity to provide efficient and reliable qualification verification services.

Ms Ngoma noted that the verification process plays a critical role in protecting the integrity of Zambia’s education system by ensuring that qualifications presented for employment, further studies, or professional registration are genuine and recognized.

In addition to the verified qualifications, the Director General disclosed that 1,999 qualifications were issued with notices of rejection after failing to meet verification requirements. She emphasized that the rejection notices demonstrate ZAQA’s commitment to maintaining high standards and preventing the use of unrecognized or fraudulent qualifications.

“The verification process is not only about approval but also about safeguarding quality and credibility,” Ms Ngoma said, adding that the authority continues to encourage institutions and individuals to comply with established standards.

Ms Ngoma further revealed that ZAQA has so far registered 872 qualifications in the National Qualifications Framework (NQF). Out of this total, 298 new qualifications were registered in 2025 alone, highlighting steady growth in the development and recognition of nationally aligned qualifications.

She explained that registering qualifications in the NQF helps ensure consistency, comparability, and relevance of skills and knowledge across different education and training institutions in the country.

ZAQA’s achievements in 2025 underscore its expanding role in supporting Zambia’s human capital development agenda. The authority reaffirmed its commitment to improving service delivery, strengthening collaboration with stakeholders, and promoting public awareness about the importance of qualification verification and registration.