Education Commission and 94 specialised institutions under the
charge of other ministries and agencies.
In addition, 18 community colleges were set up in accord
with a government policy prescribed in 2001. The mentioned policy
supported the establishment of community colleges in provinces
where other opportunities for higher education were not available,
to offer the education and training necessary for economic and social
development in those communities. Community colleges offer 2-year
associate degree programmes suitable for professional development
in areas relevant to local economic and social development
needs. Several curricula are currently offered in associate degree
programmes from community colleges.
2.3 Educational Standards and Quality Assurance
The purpose of establishing educational standards is to
specify certain qualities in the provision of education, such as desired
learner attributes, curriculum, and teaching-learning processes.
So as to ensure quality, institutions are expected to
develop excellence within the domain of their regular activities and
administrative tasks, whereby it is anticipated that educational quality
will flourish. Improvement of quality will be beneficial to direct
recipients of the service, including students and parents, as well as
indirect recipients, such as employers, individuals, and society as a
whole. To ensure improvement in the quality of education at all levels
and of all types, two major tasks that need to be accomplished are the
development of educational standards and the development of a quality
assurance system.
There are currently three types of standards: national
education standards, and standards for internal quality assurance
and for external quality assessment.
2.3.1 National Education Standards
As specified in the 1999 National Education Act, the
Office of the Education Council is responsible for proposing national
education standards. Consequently, sets of standards were formulated
by the Office in cooperation with the offices responsible for basic