The Mauritius Qualifications Authority (MQA) was established as a body corporate under the Mauritius Qualifications Authority Act 2001 and falls under the aegis of the Ministry of Education and Human Resources, Tertiary Education and Scientific Research. The MQA became operational since 08 May 2002 and its main role as a regulatory body is to be the guardian of the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) – a system designed to recognise the attainment of knowledge, understanding and skills by people in Mauritius; to ensure compliance with provisions for registration and accreditation of training institutions; to ensure that standards and registered qualifications are internationally comparable; to recognize and evaluate qualifications for the purpose of establishing their equivalence in the TVET sector and to recognize and validate competencies acquired outside the formal education and training systems.