EDUCATION Minister Ronald Thwaites told the House of Representatives Tuesday that among the interim measures being implemented to regulate tertiary institutions is a national registry.

He said the establishment of a national registry of institutions offering tertiary education is a part of interim measures towards the introduction of the regulatory regime to be administered by the Jamaica Tertiary Education Commission (J-TEC).

“By way of this policy, the ministry is inviting all new and existing private tertiary- level institutions to register,” Thwaites said in a statement on government plans to regulate the sector.

He said that it is very important that all students who are preparing for enrolment in a tertiary institution check with J-TEC, and/or the University Council of Jamaica, to make certain that the institution they are hoping to attend is registered, has met the basic standards required and is either already accredited or in the process of being accredited.

The minister noted that, globally, tertiary education represents the fastest- growing service sector, with the potential for significant foreign exchange earnings.

He said that, in Jamaica, the sector has been experiencing rapid expansion with the entrance to the domestic market of new local institutions or affiliates of universities based abroad.

In this regard, Thwaites said, the Government has sought to encourage growth in the sector in an orderly manner, in keeping with the Vision 2030 goal of promoting tertiary education as not only a primary development but as a catalyst for national development.

He pointed out that the University Council of Jamaica (UCJ) performs the function of external quality assurance by means of accrediting programmes and institutions. However, international best practices dictate a separation between regulation and oversight of the tertiary sector, on the one hand, and the accreditation of tertiary programmes and institutions, on the other.

Oversight and regulation of the tertiary sector is the responsibility of J-TEC, which will be a statutory body under the Education Act. The Commission’s mandate includes the establishment of internal quality standards for tertiary level institutions (TLIs) operating in Jamaica.

He said the decision to set up the registry is in keeping with the general powers conferred on the minister of education under Part II Section 3 (b) of the Education Act, “to frame an educational policy designed to provide a varied and comprehensive educational service in Jamaica”.

These interim measures, Thwaites said, will remain in place until the enactment of the J-TEC Act, giving the entity the authority to ensure the mandatory registration of all tertiary-level institutions, among its other functions.

“The establishment of the register and the registration of TLIs by J-TEC, operating under the auspices of the Ministry of Education, should result in an improved quality of tertiary-level programmes being offered in Jamaica, pending the introduction of the new regulatory regime for the tertiary sector under the J-TEC Act,” Thwaites said.