UNESCO Conference of Ministers of Education of African Member States (MINEDAF VIII), Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (2 - 6 December 2002)

The convention is implemented at three different levels:

• at the national level, by the national commissions for the recognition of studies and degrees
• at the sub-regional level, by sub-regional organs like the African and Malagasy Council for Higher Education (CAMES) and the technical committee of the Southern African Development Community (SADC)
• at the regional level, by the regional committee in charge of implementing the Arusha Convention. This committee comprises twenty members representing 19 African States which have already ratified the convention and the Holy See. The secretariat of the regional committee is responsible for ensuring the unity of higher education at the UNESCO regional office for Education in Africa (BREDA).

The regional committee has, since its creation, held 7 ordinary sessions: Dakar (1985, 1987, 2001), Lagos (1989), Paris (1992, 1998) and Conakry (1995).

During its 7th session, held on 26 and 27 November 2001 in Dakar, the committee decided to amend the Arusha convention for the following reasons:

• improve the implementation of the convention, particularly to facilitate the execution of the programme within the framework of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) in the field of education which partly relates to the strengthening of centres of excellence and academic mobility.
• Promote the transparency, coherence and credibility of the procedures and criteria used in the evaluation and recognition of studies and degrees
• Take into account new forms of higher education , particularly virtual long-distance education, private education and transnational higher education.

The Cape Town experts' meeting was organised within the framework of the implementation of co-operation between BREDA and the Commonwealth of Learning (COL). The meeting was attended by 11 experts selected on the basis of their experience in the quality assurance sector and the recognition of studies and degrees.

The experts proposed a series of amendments to the current version of the Arusha convention and formulated recommendations annexed to this information note.

The revised version of the convention will be sent to the regional committee and member States, for observations and additions, before being submitted, for approval, to the 8th conference of African Education Ministers (MINEDAF VIII) which will be held in Tanzania from 2 to 6 December 2002.