ERI SEE Support to the Quality Assurance in Pre-Tertiary Education in the WB region and Moldova – EQET SEE Project Contribution
EQET SEE Project Finalised: Key Results of the QA Component
The Enhancements in the Quality of Education and Training in South Eastern Europe – EQET SEE project (2021–2025) has been finalised, concluding a three-and-a-half-year regional effort aimed at strengthening the quality, relevance, and coherence of vocational education and training systems across the Western Balkans (WB) and Moldova. The project was coordinated by the Education Reform Initiative of South Eastern Europe – ERI SEE and implemented within two components: (1) Vocational education and training strand (VET) component and (2) quality assurance strand.
Within the quality assurance component, the EQET SEE project produced a coherent set of regional results addressing both external quality assurance practices and the strengthening of internal capacities of quality assurance systems and institutions in pre-tertiary education. Support to external quality assurance developments focused on documenting Good practices in external evaluation methodologies across Europe and on strengthening cooperation between schools, quality assurance agencies, and other relevant stakeholders involved in evaluation processes, contributing to a shared understanding of external evaluation approaches.
The majority of project results addressed the strengthening of internal quality assurance capacities. The project resulted in the development of the Regional Standard of Competences for External Evaluators, which defines the professional competences required for conducting external evaluations and serves as a reference for recruitment, training, competence assessment, and professional development. In addition, Regional Internal Quality Guidelines for Quality Assurance Agencies were developed to support internal quality management mechanisms, consistency of procedures, and reflection on institutional performance within QA bodies.
Internal capacity building was further supported through the development of several analytical and operational tools. These included a Regional Training Needs Analysis Questionnaire for External Evaluators, designed to support systematic identification of training needs at institutional and system level, as well as questionnaires for the competence assessment of external evaluators, including tools that can be used for internal review and professional reflection. The project also addressed internal operational processes of quality assurance agencies through the development of data management practices, supporting more structured, consistent, and evidence-informed handling of data related to external evaluation and quality assurance processes.
In addition, the EQET SEE project delivered a comprehensive Regional Training Programme for External Evaluators, including its structure and training materials. The programme covers introductory content, leadership and management, data collection and analysis, interpersonal communication, and effective communication and reporting, and includes dedicated modules on social sustainability and gender equity and environmental sustainability. The training programme is aligned with the Regional Standard of Competences and is intended for both initial training and continuous professional development of external evaluators.
Further documents developed within the QA component include Guidelines and suggestions for optimising external evaluation processes and the documentation of good practices identified through regional cooperation and exchange. All QA activities were implemented through structured regional cooperation facilitated by ERI SEE, including regional meetings, expert workshops, peer learning activities, and continuous exchange among quality assurance institutions and stakeholders across the region.
The EQET SEE project was formally concluded at the Closing Conference “From Vision to Impact: Regional Cooperation for Quality Education and Training”, held in Belgrade on 13–14 March 2025, which presented the achieved results and reflected on their relevance for future regional cooperation.
