BAC receives ISO 9001:2015 certification
Lebogang Mosikare | Tuesday June 13, 2023 06:00
Speaking at the ceremony, the BAC Executive Director Serty Leburu said: “The ISO 9001:2015 certification is a badge of excellence and a commitment from the BAC to all stakeholders that we are committed to internationally recognised best quality practices and services.' The BAC was officially certified by the BOBS against the ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management Systems (QMS) requirements on April 13.
The scope of certification covers 'teaching, learning, research, community outreach engagement and consultancy'. “We believe that for us as an institution to achieve our strategic objectives, QMS is key to ensuring a systematic way of documenting processes, procedures, and responsibilities to ensure standardisation in delivering our services,” she added.
The certification, Leburu noted, is a commitment to excellence and a testament to their customer-centric approach which now means stakeholders can be sure to receive internationally recognised standards that also speak to the quality of the service throughout their customer journey.
“This certification also means that our processes are optimised reflecting our intent to be efficient and effective, adding quality to the way we interact with our stakeholders. The slogan for Moselewapula is, 'I am Quality, BAC is Quality' which is our promise to our stakeholders that we individually believe in delivering quality, resulting in the collective which is BAC becoming an institution that delivers all-around quality to all stakeholders.
The BAC family, let us be encouraged to use 'I am Quality, BAC is Quality' in everything we do. We should use the learnings from this certification in the other many projects we undertake. The quality that we have committed to deliver to our stakeholders is the same quality that we should use in other projects. If we maintain this commitment to quality, we can be sure to succeed in achieving our objectives,” Leburu said.
In his keynote address, the deputy mayor of Francistown, Lesego Kwambala recognised BOBS for providing third-party certification services to organisations that have established, implemented, and are committed to maintaining a quality management system that conforms to the requirements of the ISO 9001:2015 standard. “The BAC has today joined these prestigious institutions. Allow me therefore to commend BAC for joining the league of quality-driven tertiary institutions locally, regionally and internationally which this ISO 9001:2015 certification testifies.
I also urge you to ensure that these systems are maintained, to advance BAC for the benefit of all your stakeholders. As the leadership of the City of Francistown, we appreciate the role that BOBS is playing in contributing to ensuring that quality education in institutions of higher learning is promoted. The Tertiary Education Policy, 2008 under the subheading, 'Strategic Change Agenda', states that there will be an “increased focus on quality, accountability and performance development of formal quality assurance systems and increased oversight, monitoring and evaluation of the performance of tertiary education institutions to ensure both improvement and accountability,” he elaborated.
Kwambala added: “We are delighted to be part of this advancement in contributing to the policy. As the BAC strives towards maintaining a culture of high-quality standards in all its operations, I urge you to remember the objectives that were set when the institution decided to certify as any deviation will affect adherence to the standards.
I trust that the great strides towards ISO certification will be sustained and I, therefore, urge you to maintain the working relationship with BOBS and your stakeholders for continued sustainability and consistency.' He said the ISO Certification and QMS implementation are central in enabling organisations to attain their strategic objectives including streamlining processes, ensuring uniformity, consistency in service provision, assurance of quality and confidence of service, competitive advantage, wider markets accessibility, reduction of system liability risks, ensured protection of consumers and end users as well as enhanced customer focus.
'Effective Quality Management Systems require hard work, commitment, visionary leadership and skilful execution and it is through these ingredients that you can maintain the quality BAC has committed to,” he said.