KQA is established by the Government of Kiribati to ensure that:

Kiribati has relevant qualifications - relevant to industry, communities and learners

Kiribati qualifications will be recognised by other countries – understood and trusted

Kiribati can know which overseas qualifications to recognise. 

The benefits to Kiribati of relevant and recognised qualifications include:

• Improved labour mobility which will increase employability of I-Kiribati people in the local and overseas labour market

• Enhanced the number of local education and training institutions recognized and trusted globally

• Contribute to improving the quality standards of education in Kiribati at the Secondary School and Tertiary education levels

• Increase investments in education and training by development partners

• Protect I-Kiribati citizens from fraud when studying qualifications offered in Kiribati by local training providers and overseas online providers that are not recognized.

At present, some Kiribati training providers offer qualifications to i-Kiribati from other qualification frameworks i.e.:

• Pacific Qualifications Framework

• Australian Qualifications Framework

• Fiji National Qualifications Framework

• International Maritime Organization Standards.

Four institutions in Kiribati have been quality assured to international standards:

• Kiribati Institute of Technology and Tangintebu Theological College are recognized under the Pacific Quality Assurance Framework

• Marine Training Center is recognized under the International Maritime Organization standards.

• University of the South Pacific (USP Kiribati Campus) is recognized under the Fiji National Quality Assurance Framework.

The Kiribati Teachers College is working towards accreditation with SPC-EQAP under the Pacific Quality Assurance Framework.

Through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade funded Pacific Qualifications Recognition Project (PQRP), technical advisors from the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) and the Educational Quality and Assessment Programme (EQAP) of the Pacific Community are supporting KQA to develop:

• Kiribati Qualifications Framework

• Kiribati Quality Assurance Framework

• Rules and procedures to guide quality assurance in Kiribati.

Once these are in place, KQA will gradually take on responsibility for development of qualifications to be relevant to Kiribati’s needs and quality assuring delivery of those qualifications to international standards so other countries will recognise them.