The role of monitoring in enhancing the quality of education:Examples of feedback into education systems from developed and emerging economies.

The term quality assurance was first used in the context of business and industry. These had clearly identifiable products or artefacts, for which it was not too difficult to assess and assure their quality (Kistan, 1999). Quality assurance started when the industry became mechanised and humans only played a small role in the assembly line. The workers did not have an influence on the final product and as a result, had less interest in the products (Gray, 1987). In order for owners of businesses to ensure the quality of their products, inspectors were introduced, whose main goal was to identify mistakes and then put mechanisms in place to ensure quality. This process, referred to as quality control mechanisms (Allais, 2009), led to assuring that quality products were being produced resulting in the term quality assurance