These activities marked a key step in advancing the implementation of Botswana’s National Credit and Qualifications Framework (NCQF) policies.

Building on the 2025 policy reform

The workshops built directly on the work carried out in 2025, during which policies on Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), Credit Accumulation and Transfer System (CATS) and those on referencing were reviewed and revised with ACQF-II project support.
Following their formal adoption, the 2026 capacity‑building programme aimed to:

• Disseminate the adopted NCQF policies among all relevant national stakeholders
• Strengthen shared understanding of RPL, CATS and NQF implementation
• Jointly develop implementation roadmaps, action plans and monitoring frameworks, ensuring national ownership and coordinated rollout.

February–March 2026 stakeholder workshops

Between 9 February and 20 March 2026, five weeks of stakeholder engagement workshops were organised, combining online expert input and in‑person participation in Botswana. The programme covered:

• Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)
• Credit Accumulation and Transfer System (CATS)
• Referencing to the ACQF

The sessions were delivered by ACQF‑II experts and combined technical presentations with hands‑on group work, enabling participants to contextualise the adopted policies and to contribute directly to implementation planning.
Across the five workshop cycles, more than 340 participants from BQA, education and training providers, public institutions, professional bodies and sector stakeholders took part.

NCQF–ACQF referencing workshop (23–25 March 2026)

The capacity‑building programme concluded with an in‑person workshop in Gaborone (23–25 March 2026) dedicated to referencing Botswana’s NCQF to the African Continental Qualifications Framework (ACQF).

This workshop supported members of the Local Expert Team (LET) and the National Referencing Team (NRT) and focused on:

• Understanding the principles and criteria of ACQF referencing
• Analysing NCQF and ACQF level descriptors
• Applying referencing methodologies and quality assurance tools
• Developing inputs for the national referencing report
• Clarifying next steps, governance arrangements and stakeholder validation processes

Towards coordinated implementation

Together, the February–March 2026 activities strengthened national capacity for coherent implementation of Botswana’s NCQF policies, reinforced stakeholder ownership, and advanced preparations for NCQF referencing to the ACQF, contributing to enhanced qualifications transparency, learner mobility and regional comparability.