The Public Portal - search and compare qualifications in Africa

Who is this for?

The QCP Public Portal is open to everyone – no login required. It is designed for anyone who needs to find, view or compare qualifications from across Africa.

Users include:

• Learners and job seekers searching for recognised qualifications, planning study pathways, or presenting their own credentials for a foreign employer or university.
• Employers understanding how foreign qualifications meet their needs in skills and compare to local qualifications.
• Admissions officers assessing foreign applicants’ prior learning and determining equivalence.
• Policy makers and national authorities researching qualifications from other countries to support harmonisation, policy development or curriculum planning.
• Recognition authorities evaluating foreign qualifications to find official key information about a qualification and identify how it compares to local

What you can do

The Public Portal offers four main functions:

Search and filter qualifications. Use the main search bar to find qualifications by title or ID. The filter panel lets you narrow results by country, NQF level, or thematic area.

To search:

1. Enter a search term in the main search bar — for example, "Master of Laws" or "Nursing Certificate"
2. Use the filter panel to narrow results by country, level, or thematic area
3. Browse results displayed as cards or a list
4. Select a qualification to open its full profile

View qualification details. Each qualification profile shows comprehensive information based on the ACQF QCP  data model – including the qualification title, national and ACQF reference levels, credit points, learning outcomes, awarding body, and accreditation status.

Compare qualifications. Select two qualifications and view them side by side to understand how they relate across different national frameworks.

To compare:

1. Select qualifications using the "Compare" checkbox on search results
2. Click "View comparison" once you have selected between two and four qualifications
3. Review the comparison table showing all key attributes side by side
4. Switch between summary, detailed, and learning outcomes views

Find similar qualifications.
The public portal helps users navigate the qualifications landscape more effectively. When using this feature, qualifications are compared across all participating countries and matched on attributes such as level, field of learning, learning outcomes, qualifications type etc.

This allows users to identify equivalences, explore differences across national systems and helps learners, employers and recognition practitioners to better understand how a qualification related others in the region.

Search qualifications → Links to QCP Public Portal

The Curator Portal

Who is this for?

The Curator Portal is the secure, administrative back-end of the QCP. Access is restricted to authorised personnel from national institutions that are responsible for managing qualifications data. These typically include national qualifications authorities, ministries of education and TVET, and quality assurance and accreditation agencies.

Your virtual space

Each participating country operates within a dedicated virtual space – a secure area where national data remains exclusively under the country’s control. Your organisation remains the sole owner of the data you upload. The virtual space can be configured to reflect your national context, including where responsibilities are shared between different institutions.

What you can do

The Curator Portal gives national teams the tools to build and manage their qualifications register:

• View and manage qualification records. Search, filter, and monitor all records in your Virtual Space including drafts and published qualifications or add new ones manually using structured web forms.
• Import data in bulk. Upload qualification data directly as a bulk upload or connect your national qualifications database via an API to the QCP.
• Review and validate data. Check records against the ACQF QCP data model before publication.
• Publish to the Public Portal. Release approved qualifications so they are visible to anyone using the public search platform.
• Manage organisations. Add and update profiles for awarding bodies, accreditation agencies, and learning providers linked to your qualifications.
• Manage your team. Administrators can invite colleagues and assign them roles as Curators or Administrators within the Virtual Space.

Tip: For step-by-step guidance on using the Curator Portal, see the User Manual or explore Modules 3, 4 and 5 of the QCP Online Course.

How to get access

To get started, your national qualifications authority nominates an administrator who submits an official request to the QCP support team. Once verified, your country's Virtual Space is activated and the administrator can then onboard their team.

To get started:

1. Nominate an administrator. Your national qualifications authority nominates a Virtual Space Administrator — the person who will manage your country's space and its users.
2. Submit an official request. The nominated administrator emails the QCP support team at support@acqf-qcp.africa with an official letter confirming the institution's mandate to manage national qualifications data.
3. Virtual Space activation. Once verified, the QCP team sets up your country's Virtual Space and sends login credentials to the administrator.
4. Onboard your team. The administrator can then create accounts for Qualifications Curators — the staff responsible for data entry — and assign permissions based on their roles.

To request access: support@acqf-qcp.africa

Adding qualifications data

The QCP supports two approaches to adding qualifications, which can be used together depending on your country’s level of digital readiness.

• Manual entry: enter qualifications one by one using structured web forms in the Curator Portal. This is well suited to countries building their national register or working without a structured national database.
• Automated bulk upload: countries with established national systems can publish qualification data in bulk using file upload or API-based integration. This approach supports regular, repeatable data sharing with minimal manual effort.

Both methods require data to be aligned with the ACQF QCP data model– the shared data standard that makes qualifications comparable across countries. This process, known as data mapping, is a key step for any country joining the QCP.

Access the Curator Portal: curate.acqf-qcp.africa (login required)

Technical documentation: data.acqf-qcp.africa

Tip: To learn more about the Curator Portal, data entry and data mapping, explore Modules 3, 4 and 5 of our interactive e-learning course.