Quality assurance in adult education and training aims to ensure the provision of high-quality, relevant and accessible learning opportunities for adults. The main policy objectives include: ensuring compliance with national standards in curricula, assessment and certification; improving the quality and relevance of programmes in line with labourmarket needs; strengthening accountability and transparency of providers; supporting recognition of prior learning and validation of non-formal and informal learning and promoting continuous improvement of teaching and learning processes. 

Quality assurance in adult education is largely integrated into the overall quality assurance framework for primary and secondary education.

• developing standards for adult education; 

• preparing curricula and final examination programmes; 

• determining the standards for textbooks and teaching materials; 

• monitoring compliance with established standards through quality assurance procedures. 

The Centre operates within the framework defined by the Ministry and corresponds to the Council for Vocational and Adult Education within the Ministry, which determinesstandards related to adult education and training. The Institute for Education Quality and Evaluation is responsible for developing general and specific achievement standards applicable to adult education. 

Qualification Agency is responsible for the recognition of foreign school and higher education qualifications (through the ENIC/NARIC centre), the implementation of procedures for the recognition of prior learning, the maintenance of the National Qualifications Framework Register, and the authorization of publicly recognized providers of adult education activities. The providers of adult education activities can apply with training and re-training programmes in specific area, but also programmes dedicated to development of key competencies, career guidance and counselling of adult learners etc. 

The methods and approaches are same as for  early Childhood and school education since the most providers of adult education activities are regular primary and secondary vocational schools. 

The most important law regulating adult education is the Law on Adult Education. It defines adult education and training as part of the national education system, establishesquality assurance as a statutory objective, and defines core concepts such as certification, recognition of prior learning and accreditation criteria for adult education providers.  

Key reforms in this area over the past decade have been aligned with the strategic framework in education and the Law on Adult Education.  

A major reform aimed directly at quality assurance for providers was the adoption of the Bylaw on Detailed Conditions Concerning the Program, Staff, Space, Equipment and Teaching Aids for Acquiring the Status of Publicly Accredited Providers of Adult Education in 2021. By this bylaw, primary school, secondary school or other institutions and organizations can acquire status of publicly accredited providers of adult education. The accreditation process includes assessment of programs, staff competences and qualifications, teaching methods, aids and space with the aim to ensure quality in this area. 

Providers may apply for accreditation of training and retraining programmes in specific occupational areas, as well as programmes aimed at developing key competences, career guidance and counselling of adult learners. 

Also, the Law on National Qualifications Framework of Serbia with its amendments from 2020, 2021 and 2023 explicitly integrates quality assurance mechanisms of adult education and training into the qualifications system by: 

• defining the roles of qualification standards and outcome-based learning 

• establishing procedures for recognition of prior learning 

• focusing on relation between quality assurance for qualifications and external evaluation frameworks 

   

One important reform which aligned adult education quality assurance mechanisms with standards of the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) was the finalizing of process of referencing NQFS to the EQF in 2020. Namely, the qualifications framework of the Republic of Serbia has been linked to the European Qualifications Framework which means that a clear and transparent link has been established between the eight qualification levels of the Republic of Serbia and the eight qualification levels of the European Qualifications Framework. It has been introduced a more structured approach to designing and evaluating provider performance in adult education.  

Another key reform took place in 2022 with the adoption of the Bylaw on Standards for Self-Assessment and External Evaluation of publicly recognised providers. This document defines:  

• internal self-evaluation procedures 

• external evaluation by the competent agency 

• mechanisms for corrective actions based on evaluation outcomes. 

   

This marked a clear shift toward evidence-based quality assurance with precisely defined evaluation expectations and results for providers.