The Zambia Qualifications Authority (ZAQA) has verified over 59,000 local and international qualifications as of December 20, 2025.
ZAQA Executive Director Mercy Ngoma says the achievement reflects the authority’s strengthened capacity to conduct qualification verification services, which are critical in protecting employment and higher education opportunities for citizens.
Ms. Ngoma explained that during the same period, over 1,900 qualifications were issued with notices of rejection following the successful completion of the verification process.
Speaking during an end-of-year media interaction in Lusaka today, Ms. Ngoma said the rejections resulted from qualifications obtained from institutions without legal authority to award them, enrolment in programmes that were not quality-assured, and cases of fraud, among other reasons.
She noted that this development underscores the importance of qualification verification as a quality-assurance and public protection mechanism, which is now mandatory for employment purposes and enrolment into tertiary education institutions.
Ms. Ngoma also appealed to qualification-awarding bodies to register on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) in line with prescribed quality standards, a move she said would enhance both national and international recognition of Zambian qualifications.
She added that in recent months, the authority has recorded an increase in requests from regional qualifications authorities and recognition bodies seeking confirmation of the registration status of Zambian qualifications.
Ms. Ngoma further stated that, following the expanded mandate of ZAQA, the authority has been strengthening its institutional capacity by enhancing staffing levels and conducting a comprehensive review of its systems and international processes to improve efficiency.
