Towards a comparative study of quality assurance in Nigerian and South African higher education

Abstract

Quality assurance policies have been introduced in the higher education systems of many countries. These developments have occurred against the backdrop of globalisation, the internationalisation of higher education, and the knowledge economy. We shall show how, as a conceptual tool, the idea of quality assurance is problematic and that there is no commonly accepted definition of quality assurance. We discuss the relevant literature and argue that in future comparative studies of South African and Nigerian higher education could contribute to current understandings of quality assurance. Such studies, based upon the perspectives of local constituents, have to date not been carried out in Africa.