Tunisian Agency for Evaluation and Accreditation in Higher Education and Scientific Research (ATEA)
The Tunisian Agency for Evaluation and Accreditation in Higher Education and Scientific Research (ATEA) was established by Decree No. 46 of 2022, dated June 24, 2022, as a non-administrative public institution. In the framework of the agency's establishment, Decree No. 214 of 2024, dated April 26, 2024, was published, outlining the administrative and financial organization of the Tunisian Agency for Evaluation and Accreditation in Higher Education and Scientific Research, as well as the modalities of its functioning.
Organizational Structure
The second chapter of the decree is dedicated to the administrative and scientific organization, specifying the missions and powers of the Director General, the Establishment Council, the Scientific Instance, the Expert Committees, and the Appeal Committee. Furthermore, Section 4 of Chapter 2 is devoted to the evaluation process by the Expert Committees, with the possibility of resorting to scientific supervisors selected based on their competence and qualifications in evaluation, quality, and accreditation.
Financial Organization
The financial organization of the agency is addressed in Chapter 3, defining the components of the agency's budget, both in terms of resources and expenses, in Section 1, and specifying the institution's accounting in Section 2.
State Supervision
Chapter 4 is dedicated to the provisions related to state supervision over the agency, via the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, in accordance with the legislative and regulatory provisions in force regarding the supervision of non-administrative public institutions.
Conflict of Interest
To enable the agency to fulfill its missions in accordance with the required standards for evaluation and accreditation, Chapter 5 of the decree, titled "Conflict of Interest," stipulates the declaration of potential conflicts of interest by agency agents, members of its structures, scientific supervisors, and evaluator experts. They must also maintain the confidentiality of data and information exchanged in the exercise of their functions, even after the end of their mandate at the agency, unless otherwise provided by law. A series of sanctions is provided for violations of these provisions, which may go up to the removal from the register of scientific supervisors and evaluator experts, in addition to the sanctions provided for by the legislation in force in case of serious offenses.
Calls for Applications
In this context, the agency is launching calls for applications for the Scientific College and the Appeal Committee of the ATEA. Moreover, the agency is organizing a webinar today at 2 pm, as part of the launch of the calls for applications to integrate the different structures of the ATEA (Scientific College, Appeal Committee, Scientific Referees, Evaluator Experts).