KUALA LUMPUR – Limkokwing University of Creative Technology (LUCT) is back in the headlines – this time on the front page of the leading paper in Namibia, with 15 students with disabilities alleging their degrees are not recognised in their own country.
In the report by The Namibian, the 15 students claimed that their LUCT diplomas from the Botswana campus are not recognised by the Namibian Qualifications Authority (NQA).
The affected students were sent to the Botswana campus by the Namibia Students Financial Assistance Fund and graduated in 2019 with diplomas in television and radio broadcasting.
The NQA informed them that LUCT’s certificate courses are recognised but not their diplomas, nor the retailing and merchandising courses.
Namibia’s Deputy Disability Affairs Minister Alexia Manombe-Ncube was quoted as saying that her ministry is aware that several LUCT Botswana courses are not accredited.
It was also reported that the NQA spokesman said LUCT is not accredited in Namibia.
Aside from Namibia, LUCT has campuses in Lesotho, Eswatini, Sierra Leone, Uganda and Rwanda.
Meanwhile, the paper reported that NSFAF acting chief executive officer Kennedy Kandume as saying that it is a matter of time before the qualifications will be accredited.
“There is nothing wrong with the qualifications. It is just a matter of time and for the process to be sorted out by the Botswana Qualifications Authority (BQA) to be followed by the institution, and then the qualifications are accredited.
“It is not to say that the qualifications and its entities are not recognised, and therefore it's a waste of money, but it is a matter of the process being followed for the accreditation and recognition of the qualifications to be completed.”
LUCT has been bogged down by accreditation issues, especially in Malaysia.
In Malaysia, 10 former international students are suing LUCT for RM5 million in damages after the institution’s Bachelor of Computer Science (Hons) in Cloud Computing Technology (BCCT) saw its Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) accreditation revoked.
The students allege that the BCCT programme lacks global recognition due to its revocation and they are unable to find employment as a result.
MQA is the governing body for recognition of qualifications in Malaysia.
The former students in the suit against LUCT are from Bangladesh, Iraq, Senegal, Pakistan, Nigeria and Syria, all of whom graduated in 2018 and 2019.
After being granted provisional accreditation for BCCT for seven years by MQA between March 2014 and May 2021, LUCT was denied full accreditation in 2019.
LUCT said it had amended and resubmitted eight of its programmes within 30 days of being flagged in a recent accreditation audit.
It also said accreditation of all its courses is an ongoing process as it reaches maturity and requires scrutiny of the MQA.
The Vibes had reported that more than 800 students are in limbo due to the revocation of accreditation for eight programmes, including seven master’s and one PhD. – The Vibes, October 22, 2021
