INTRODUCTION
There
was a time not many years ago when the ends and means of education did not
present a problem of much complexity.
Good teachers, willing students where the ingredients of education, and
with rapport between them, one might look forward to an educated population of
some merit.
Today
this is not so. For knowledge has
brought with it some understanding of the complexity involved in the
ingredients of the educational process.
The concreted pattern of education still involve a teacher certainly,
who is still the heart of matter. But to
make possible the growth and development of the teacher, to enable him or her
to deal with the growth of knowledge, one has to think of a variety of other sources
and materials of education. One has to
think of a curriculum or general frame works with in which he works and with in
which the subject – fields are defined in progressive step for progressive age
group of students. One has to think of
text book that cannot be equated with the teacher, but that can make better
teachers of good teachers, and less bad teachers of bad teachers. One has to think of experimental
instructional materials, teacher’s handbook and student’s work book to
accompany textbooks, and inordrer to develop these, one has to plan for
workshop in which the teacher shall be an active participant and carry out
organized research in the total process of education. One has to think of how to enlarge the
subject content of teaching at school level and not merely to make a fetish of
methodology, though methods do matter.
Due to
knowledge explosion, there is a spread of education not only in India, but all
over the world. Due to this change social needs have changed accordingly. A teacher is expected to face the new changes
by undergoing trough training for new trends in education. Such training needs
are satisfied by NCERT – National Council of Educational Research and Training.
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We are
long past seeing education in national pigeonholes. As there are no barriers in
health, art, idealism. So there can today be no barriers in knowledge or
education. It is the business and the
accepted obligation of NCERT to see the total dimension of the education,
international or national, to study the advances made elsewhere, to adopt,
where possible, and to adopt its own slender resources to these changes. In doing this NCERT must be aware of the
distinctive features of India’s own policies and economy. Numbers are for India an obsessive
problem. She is a poor country. She has to acute shortage of teachers and an
even more acute shortage of trained teachers.
Upon all these NCERT must base its attack.
The
National Council of Educational Research and Training was established in New
Delhi, on 1st September, 1961 for providing academic support in
improving the quality of school education in India. It is the academic adviser to Ministry of
Human Resources development (HRD) of the government of India. The ministry draws upon NCERT’s expertise
while formulating and implementing policies and programs in the areas of school
and teacher education. Funded by the
government of India, this autonomous organization is registered under the
Societies Registration Act (1860).
STRUCTURE
The
General Body is the policy making body of the NCERT with the Union Minister for
Human Resource Development as its President. All the ministers of education in
the State and Union Territories are its members. Beside experts in the field of education are
also nominated as members. Its
membership patters helps in taking policy decision at the highest level.
The
governing body of the NCERT is the executive committee, again with the Union
Minister for Human Resource Development as its ex-officio President. The Union Minster for State is its ex-officio
vice president assisting the Executive committee dealing with finance,
establishment matters and programs.
Management
of all the affairs and funds of the council vests in the Governing Body or
Executive Committee which is composed of officers of the Faculties of council ,
representatives of Ministries of education and finance, and eminent
educationists. Its programs are
carefully considered by program Advisory committee on which are represented
several Faculty members, representatives of state Institute of education and
University Department of education. It
has several advisory committees for dealing with specific problems in different
fields like publications, science etc., with men of repute and standing drawn
from all over the county.
Role of
NCERT
·
To monitor the administration of NIE / Regional colleges of
Education.
·
To undertake aid, promote and co-ordinate research in all branches
of education for improving school – education
·
To organize pre-service and in-service education programmes for
teachers.
·
To prepare and publish study material for students and related
teacher’s handbooks. /
·
To search talented students for the award of scholarship in
science, Technology and social sciences.
·
To undertake functions assigned by the Ministry of education (Now
HRD) for improving school –education.
·
To promote, organize and foster research in all fields of
education.
·
To disseminate knowledge of improved educational techniques and
practices; and
·
To conduct special studies, surveys and investigations.
It is quite
interesting to know how following constituent institutes works.
Constituent
UNITS:
The National Council of Educational
Research and Training (NCERT) with six constituents has been serving
National
Institute of EDUCATION:
The NIE’s activities are mainly
confined to (a) research and development (b) in service training and (c)
publishing and dissemination programmes.
Important among these programmes are developed and evaluation of
curriculum, instructional materials, learning resources and instructional
strategies. These programmes cover the
entire range or preprimary to higher secondary stage of education and all
school subjects including the vocational stream at the higher secondary stage. Its other programmes include examination reform and test development,
nutrition and health education, education of scheduled caste and scheduled
tribe students, girls, education, population education, value education and
physical education. The NIE also
develops prototypes of science kits which are in fact mini-laboratories for
schools. Other important areas of its
works are the non-formal education for out-school children, early childhood
education, education of the disabled and programmes for the educationally
backward minorities. The NIE has
computer facilities for storage and retrieval of data. It periodically conducts educational surveys
which throw light on the educational facilities and needs. The NIE has also a library and documentation
unit specializing in education.
The special reference library for
the use of researches I then filed of applied psychology called the National
Library of Educational and Physiological Test’s is also located in the NIE.
Considering the importance of
improving the quality of teacher education in India, the government had
established the National Council for teacher Education (NCTE) and functioning
as its academic secretarial is the Department of Teacher Education, Special
Education and Extension Service (DTESEES).
Tough the NIE primarily confines its activities to in-service training;
it nevertheless conducts a regular nine month Diploma Course in Educational and
Vocational Guidance. This is basically a
pre-service course meant for training a band of counselors for the school system.
Central
Institute of Educational technology (CIET)
The CIET is the sixth constituent
unit of the NCERT. It was set up in
1984s by merging the Centre for Educational Technology and Department of
Teaching Aids. It aims at promoting the
use of educational technology, particularly mass media, for improving and
spreading education in the country, and for developing an alternate system of
education.
The CIET develops (a) software in
mind the educational needs, (b) trains personnel wording in the field of
educational technology, (c) conducts and disseminates information concerning
educational media and technology.
The CIET is headed by a Joint
Director, appointed by the Government of India.
It has helped in setting up six States institutes of educational
Technology (SIETs), one each in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Maharashtra,
Orissa and Uttar Pradesh. The SIET and
the CIET produce educational television programmes for children in the age
group 5-8 and 9-11 years and teachers.
These proigrammes are telecast for three hours and forty minutes a day
by using the satellite and ground transmission network.
The CIET is equipped to take up
programmes covering most of the areas of educational technology, viz, distance
education, educational television, radio, films and low cost material. We shall discuss a bit detail about CIET
separately because of its importance.
Regional
Institutes of Education (RIEs)
The Council has four Regional
Colleges of Education (RIEs) one each at Ajmer, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar and
Mysore. These campus colleges with the Demonstration
Multipurpose Schools attached to them.
Such schools help the faculty to develop methodologies and test them in
the actual classroom situation. Each
college has modern laboratories, well-equipped library and residential
quarters.
The college offered for integrated
teacher education courses leading to B.Sc, Ed. Degree. Except RCE Ajmer the other college also
offered a similar programme leading to B.A., B.Ed programmes.
The Bhubaneswar and Mysore RCEs also
offered M.Sc Education programmes.
Facilities for doing doctoral work
for the pursuing one year B.Ed and M.Ed courses were also available in the
RCEs.
All the RCEs conduct in-service
training programs both for school teachers and teacher educations. Besides teaching and extension work, the
colleges also take up research and development programmes. Now they are converted in Regional Institutes
of Education.
Co-operative
Effort
The States play a pivotal role in
the area of school education in India.
The NCERT works in close co-operation with the state education
departments. It has a network of 17
filed Advisers (FAS) offices covering at state and union territories. The council associates the representatives of
states with its programmes and with the comities constituted by it.
The NCERT has close ties with
universities and other organizations that have a stake in the quality of school
education. Prominent among them are the Kendriya Vidyalays Sangathan (KVS), the
Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), the Central Tibetan Schools Administration
(CTSA), and the Navodaya Vidyalays Samiti (NVS).
Functions
The functions of the NCERT
broadly relate to
(a) Research
and development
(b) In
–service and pre-service training
(c) Extension and dissemination work –all
these lauded to achieve the main objective of improving the quality of
education.
The
NCERT, therefore (i) develop curriculum, instructional and exemplar materials,
methods of teaching, techniques of evaluation, teaching aids, kits equipments,
learning resources etc. (ii) Organize pre-service and in-service training
of teachers, teacher educators and other educational personnel; (iii) conducts
and promotes educational research; (iv) disseminates improved educational
techniques and practices and research findings, and (v) acts as a cleaning
house for ideas and information on all matters relating to school education and
teacher education.
Realizing the importance of
textbooks, the government, after independence, increasingly acquired more
control over preparation, production and distribution of textbooks in addition
to the concern for production of quality textbooks in large quantity, one of
the significant argument for adoption of the policy of nationalization was the
state produced textbooks would check anti-democratic and would help meeting the
challenges of casteism, communalism, regionalism, linguism, religious
intolerance, untouchability and some other national and global concerns.
Publications
The publishing programme of the
NCERT is a part of its total effort to improve the quality of school
education. The NCERT textbooks published
in English, Hindi, and Urdu languages have the unique distinction of being once
attractive and inexpensive. These
textbooks are freely adopted by states under their nationalized textbooks programme. They are also used widely in schools
affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education, Kendriya Vidyalays,
Jawaharlal Navodaya Vidyalays, Tibetan Schools and several public Schools. The NCERT brings out a wide variety of
publications such as (a) research literature, (b) School textbooks including
workbooks and teachers’ guides, (c) General books for children of different age
groups, and (d) educational journals viz., Indian Educational Review
(quarterly), Journal of Indian Education and Bharatiya Adhunik Shiksha
(bi-monthlies), School Science (quarterly).
The Primary Teacher and Primary Shishak (both quarlies), and NCERT
Newsletter and Shaikshik Darpan (both news magazines primarily meant for in
–house circulation)
The NCERT also brings out
supplementary readers under the Reading to Learn and National integration
Series. These books are specially
written keeping in view the needs of school children, to promote a healthy
reading habit in them
The setting up of the NCERT in 1961
was a landmark in the history of school education in India. Since its inception, the NCERT undertook in a
phased manner, a major programme of preparation of model curricula, syllabi and
textbooks for the entire school stage.
The NCERT faculty also collaborated with the State Education Departments
and specialized agencies like, Textbook Bureau, Textbook Corporations etc., in
formulation of their curricula and instructional materials.
Among other things, the NCERT acted
as a academic secretariat of the National Board of School Textbooks (NBST)
which was set up by Government of India in 1968 in order to co-ordinate and
guide the activities of the national level and the State level organizations
for production and several suggestions regarding preparation, evaluation, production
and distribution of school textbooks and emphasized the societal concerns like
national integration, secularism, and democratic living should find adequate
reflection in the school textbooks. AT
the instance of the Government of India, the NCERT, since 1969, has inter alia,
been working on a programme of evaluation of the textbooks of the states and
Union Territories from the standpoint of national integration. It has also remained associated, more or less,
with the matters related to policy formulation and implementation in respect of
school education. Keeping in view the
emphasis on societal concerns like equality of sexes and population education,
separates/Units have been created in the NCERT for ensuring their suitable
reflection in the School curriculum.
Encouraging
Talent
The NCERT has progrmmes for
encouraging talented school, children, innovative teachers, teacher educators
and promising scholars wanting to pursue research studies.
Every year the NCERT awards 750
National Talent Search (NTS) scholarships-including 70 for students belonging
to SC/ST communities. The purpose of
this scholarship scheme is to identify talented students at the class X stage
and give them financial assistance for pursuing higher studies. Students bagging these scholarships may
pursue, or take up professional courses up to the second degree level in such
areas as engineering or medicine.
In order to encourage
experimentation and innovations, the NCERT organizes separate programmes for
primary and secondary school teachers and elementary and secondary teacher
educators. Called Seminar Readings
Programmes these schemes envisage giving awards for significant innovative work
by teachers and teacher educators.
The NCERT also awards research
fellowships leading to Ph.D. degree of for doing post doctoral work,
Only those scholars who clear the test administered by the University Grants Commission (UGC) are
eligible for Ph.D. fellowships.
The NCERT sponsors and encourages
out of school activities for popularizing science. The organization of science exhibitions at
the district state and national levels is a part of his effort.
Research
and Professional Growth
The educational Research and
innovations Committee (ERIC) of the NCERT funds research programmes taken up by
scholars both within and outside the Council.
The projects, however, are to have a direct bearing on either school
education or teacher education. The ERIC
also holds periodic conferences of educational research workers. Having funded publication of surveys of
educational researches in India earlier it has now taken upon itself the task
of compiling such research volumes as well.
The
NCERT offers financial assistances to professional associations in the field of
education for holding annual conferences and publishing journals.
International
Recognition
The NCERTs international ranges
from working with the united Nation’s institutions like UNESCO, UNISEF, UNDP,
UNFPA etc., to assisting Third World Countries.
It serves as the academic secretarial of the National Development Group
(NDG) or the Asia and NCERT has been providing technical support to the states
in the planning and implementation of various programmes to promote
vocationalisation at the plus two stage.
It has also been engaged in development of competency-based curricula
for different vocational courses, development of guidelines for implementing
different vocational courses, development of guidelines for implementing
different aspects of vocationalisation of education, development of syllabi and
instructional materials, training of vocational teacher educators, teachers and
other personnel.
For orientation in favor of values,
the common core components viz., (i) History of India’s freedom movement, (ii)
Constitutional obligations, (iii) Contents essential to nurture national
identity (iv) India’s common cultural heritage (v) egalitarianism, democracy
and socialism, (vi) equality of sexes, (vii) removal of social barriers, (viii)
observance of small family norms, and
(ix) inculcation of scientific temper, emphasized in the National Policy
on Education, are suitably reflected in the curricula and instructional
materials of all subjects and at all stages of school education developed by
NCERT.
With the view to meet the challenges
in realm of teacher education, “Teachers Education Curriculum-A Framework”
(1978) developed by the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) had been
revised in 1990. This framework provided
for transformation of the preservice teacher education structures and processes
related to elementary and secondary teacher course. NCTE now granted a statutory status by the
Government of India is in a position to persuade the states for acceptance of
these recommendations. Programmes and
activities related to the training of the personnel of the centrally-sponsored
institutions DIETs, CTEs and IASEs are being implemented by the NCERT. A few examples of the self-instructional
materials and multi-media packages are (i) the “In-service Teacher Education
Packages” for primary school teachers and secondary school teachers, and (iii)
the multi-media packages developed for operationalizing the operation
blackboard scheme.
A major component of examination
reform has been linked with the recommendation regarding introduction of
semesterisation of the senior secondary stage.
The NCERT has developed a framework for semesterisation in collaboration
with Boards of Secondary and Senior Secondary Education. In this context, scheme of continuous and
comprehensive evaluation has been evolved and circulated among the SCERT and
Boards of Secondary Education. NCERT has
also developed conceptual materials related to educational evaluation,
preparation of criterion-referenced texts and the training of test item writers
in different subjects’ areas. It has
also developed a sample cumulative card along with procedures for maintaining
records of pupils, achievement and guidelines for introduction of grading and
grading and scaling in examinations. A
project titled “Learning Attainment of Children in Language and Mathematics at
Primary Stage” has been completed. A
similar study on scholastic attainments at class X and XII level has also been
completed.
A national talent search scheme is
in operation for identification and nurturing of talent of class X. NCERT has also undertaken a programme to identify
talented children in rural areas as per requirement of admission to Navodaya
Vidyalays.
Conclusion
The NCERT works as the academic wing
of the Ministry of Education and Social Welfare and assists the Ministry in the
formulation and implementation of its policies and programmes in the field of
school education. The functions of the
Council are discharged on the following broad lines:
(a)To undertake studies, investigations and surveys relating to
school education;
(b)To organize pre-service and in-service training mainly at an
advanced level;
(c)To organize extension services;
(d)To disseminate improved educational techniques and good
practices;
(e)To act as a clearing-house for ideas and information on all
matters related to school education.
With
a view to carrying out such functions effectively, the council works in close
co-operation with the Education Department in the States and the Universities
and generally with all organizations in the country for furthering the
objectives of school education. Besides,
the council maintains close relations with similar national and international
agencies maintains close relations with similar national and international
agencies throughout the world. In order
to implements its programmes efficiently it has not only a large number of
advisory bodies, but also it has an array of executive as well as academic
institutions, departments and organizations throughout the country. It also maintains a liaison with all the
state Government through the network of offices of Field Advisers.
REFERENCES
Dr. Ram
Shahal Pandey (2007), Education in Emerging Indian Society: Agarwal
Publications, Agra 7.
Edutrack.
Vol. III, Page No. 11, July 2004: Texbooks in Free India Policies, Practices
and Problems.
Jagannath
Mohanthy (1990), Educational Administration, Supervision and School Management,
New Delhi: Deep or Deep Publications.
Luther E
Bradfield (1964), Teaching in Modern Element: Charls E. Merlin Books.
H.C. Barnard
(1952), an Introduction to Teaching, London: University of London Press ltd.
ROLE
OF NAAC IN PROMOTING QUALITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION
INTRODUCTION
India is a developing country.
Different types of religious people are living in the country. We have thousand
years of tradition and culture. We are living in the technological and modern
world Education is the primary need for all in the society. It is the duty of
government to provide free education to all up to fourteen years. Universal
higher education is our new aim. Now majority of professional educational
institutions are in private sector. There are some benefits and losses due to
privatization of professional education.
The Indian higher education system
is in a constant state of change and flux due to increasing needs of expanding
needs to higher education, impact of technology on the delivery of education,
increasing private participation and the impact of globalization. Taking
cognizance of these developments and the role of higher education in society,
NAAC has developed.
GLOBAL CULTURE IN HIGHER EDUCATION
INSTITUTIONS OF INDIA
Nations are struggling to cope with the
demands of quality education and a phenomenal increase in the number of
students wanting to go in for higher education. Both the quality and quantity
of education requires better academic and physical infrastructure a greater
financial resources.
For the first time India is recognized internationally as a nation ,
which is providing value added trained human power at a premier level Indian
experts are now persons who generate wealth and also are the backbone in many
global science and technology revolutions. It is interesting to note that the
employment opportunity pattern is also undergoing a change. The world will be
looking for trained persons in all basic fields with a sound knowledge base in
their core discipline and with the ability to adapt to new demands
The universalization of the job market
and the acceptance of Indian skills at a global level have opened up
opportunities for the creation of new jobs internally. Today India has one of
the world’s largest stocks of technology & professionally trained manpower
Professionals and technologists educated in India in various colleges
/universities (not just IIT/IIM alone) are respected and in demand all over the
world. Universities in developed nations are aggressive in attracting students
from other countries. India should encourage the same policy. Attracting
non-resident Indians and foreign students would bring invaluable income to the
universities. Indian institutions should be given special provisions to enable
foreign students to be admitted outside the present system of quotas.
India needs to become innovative
in its higher education. Twinning programs with foreign universities will
result on foreign exchange saving earnings for the university and country.
Indian universities and institutions should be enabled to open campuses abroad,
especially in neighboring friendly countries of Asia and Africa. Also we should
focus on Teacher’s training; the teachers should be paid well. Here again more
flexibility should be given to institutions to function with accountability,
but at the same time they should maintain quality. India with a large and
growing youth population can benefit socially and economically, if it can
create opportunities for a lagged percentage-(30 %to 40%) of the youth to
acquire relevant, good quality higher education with an inclusive and flexible
approach.
ROLE
OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE SOCIETY
Higher education is the backbone of
all the societies. Quality of higher education decides the quality of human
resources in the country. Higher education is the source in all walks of life
and therefore supplies much needed human resources in management, planning,
design, teaching, and research. Scientific and technological advancement and
economic growth of a country depends on higher education system. Higher
education also provides opportunities for lifelong learning, allowing people to
upgrade their knowledge and skills from time to time based on social needs.
The Kothari commission (1966)
listed the following roles of higher education institutions in the modern
society.
1.
To seek and cultivate new knowledge, to engage vigorously and fearlessly in the
pursuit of truth, and to interpret old knowledge and benefits in the light of
new needs and discoveries.
2.
To provide right kind of leadership in all walks of life, to identify gifted
youth and help them.
3.
To provide the society with competent men and women trained in agriculture,
arts, medicine, science, and technology and various other professions.
4.
To promote quality and social justice, and to reduce social and cultural
differences.
The report of UNESCO International commission
on Education in the 21st Century titled “Learning: The Treasure
Within” emphasized four pillars of education. Learning to know, Learning to Do,
Learning to live together and learning to be. Higher education intends to
include all these four in individuals and the society.
STRATEGIES FOR QUALITY IMPROVEMENT IN HIGHER EDUCATION
Quality in systems improvement is an
unending journey. Quality doesn’t come by a chance. It is a continuous process.
It comes through strategies of better human resources development. It comes
when everyone works in a right way. To maintain quality in higher education
three factors are equally important. These are
1.
Infrastructure
2.
Instructional facilities
3.
Human resources
Required
facilities regarding them are following
INFRASTRUCTURE
·
Adequate furniture
·
Well equipped science
laboratory & computer lab
·
Outdoor & indoor games
facilitates with physical education laboratory ,technology lab with
instructional material &music room with musical instruments
·
Fully ventilated and lighted
classrooms
·
Plantation and greenery
inside & outside campus
·
Separate administration
wing & teaching wing and separate department for each subject
·
Separate common room for
boys and girls
·
Language lab & work
experience lab with all equipments
·
Suitable transport for
pupil and staff
·
Library full of reference
books, textbooks, magazines, national& international journals periodicals,
up-to-date researches and reading room
facility
·
Internet facility & art
gallery to develop aesthetic sense among students
·
Proper notice board with
relevant information
INSTRUCTIONAL FACILITIES
·
Fair admission policy
·
Time to time revised and
reformulated syllabus
·
Use of educational
technology by teacher
·
Innovative teaching
method’s application
·
Syllabus based on
practicability of daily life situation
·
Flexibility in stream
choice
·
Regular workshops,
conferences, seminars etc. on emerging problem
·
Continuous process of
evaluation system
·
Co-curricular activities as
a part of syllabus
·
Celebration of important
days, events, festivals etc.
HUMAN RESOURCES
·
Well qualified ,dynamic,
sincere teaching staff
·
Adequate number of teaching
& non teaching members
·
Regular organization of
conducting educational researches and application of its conducting educational
researches and application of its findings.
·
Action researches for the
betterment of the institution
·
Workshops, seminars,
debates, conferences, guest lecturers etc.
·
project work for new
discoveries and setup of new system
·
incentives for hard work,
sincerity, innovation, punctuality etc. for staff development
·
awareness program as aids,
polio, blood donation etc. in the institution
·
time to time promotion of
staff as per rule
·
pension facility for staff
after retirement
·
sanction of leave for
researches, higher education, for staff development
·
alumni association for the
improvement in the system of institution
·
cooperation of local people
for discipline and maintenance of the institution
·
abolition of
commercialization in the institution
NAAC’S PERSPECTIVES
FOR QUALITY ASSURANCE IN HIGHER EDUCATION
THE
NATIONAL ASSESSMENT AND ACCREDITATION COUNCIL (NAAC) is an autonomous body
established by the University Grants Commission (UGC) of India to assess and
accredit institutions of higher education in the country. It is an outcome of
the recommendations of the National Policy on Education (1986) that laid
special emphasis on upholding the quality of higher education in India that aim
to ensure satisfactory levels of quality in the functioning of higher education
institutions. To address the issue of deterioration in quality, the National
Policy on Education (1986) and the Plan of Action (POA-1992) that spelt out the
strategic plans for the policies, advocated the establishment of an independent
national accreditation body. The NAAC was established in 1994 with its
headquarters at Bangalore.
GOVERNANCE
The NAAC functions through its
General Council (GC) and Executive Committee (EC) where educational
administrators, policy makers and senior academicians from a cross section of
the system of higher education are represented. The Chairperson of the EC is an
eminent academician in the area of relevance to the NAAC. The Director of the
NAAC is its academic and administrative head, and is the member-secretary of
both the GC and EC. The NAAC also has many advisory and consultative committees
to guide its practices, in addition to the statutory bodies that steer its
policies. The NAAC has a core staff and consultants to support its activities.
It also receives assistance from a large number of external resource persons
from across the country that is not full time staff of the NAAC.
VISION
To make quality, the defining element of
higher education in India through a combination of self and external quality
evaluation, promotion and sustenance initiatives.
MISSION
·
To arrange
for periodic assessment and accreditation of institutions of higher education
or units thereof, or specific academic programmes or projects;
·
To stimulate
the academic environment for promotion of quality of teaching-learning and
research in higher education institutions;
·
To encourage
self-evaluation, accountability, autonomy and innovations in higher education;
·
To undertake
quality-related research studies, consultancy and training programmes, and
·
To
collaborate with other stakeholders of higher education for quality evaluation,
promotion and sustenance.
VALUE
FRAMEWORK
To promote
the following core values among the higher education institutions of the
country.
·
Contributing to National Development
·
Fostering Global Competencies among Students
·
Inculcating a Value System in Students
·
Promoting the Use of Technology
·
Quest for Excellence
THE METHODOLOGY
For
the assessment of a unit that is eligible to be assessed, the NAAC follows a
three stage process
1.
The preparation and submission of a self-study report by the unit of
assessment.
2.
The on-site visit of the peer team for validation of the self-study report and
for recommending the Assessment outcome to the NAAC.
3.
Grading, certification and accreditation based on the evaluation report by the
peer team. The final decision is by the
Executive Committee of the NAAC.
CRITERIA
FOR ASSESSMENT
The
NAAC has identified the following seven criteria to serve as the basis for its
assessment procedures:
1.
Curricular Aspects
2.
Teaching-Learning and Evaluation
3.
Research, Consultancy and Extension
4.
Infrastructure and Learning Resources
5.
Student Support and Progression
6.
Organization and Management Healthy
7.
Practices
Different criteria have been
allotted differential weight ages. The weight ages given below are used for
calculating the institutional score. The self-study report is expected to
highlight the functioning of the institution with reference to these criteria
QUALITY
PROMOTION AND SUSTENANCE ACTIVITIES
Quality assurance is a continuous
process; the NAAC takes up many post accreditation activities to facilitate
quality promotion and sustenance among all institutions of higher education, in
general, and among the accredited institutions, in particular. Seminars and
workshops on quality enhancement are being supported by the NAAC. To ensure
that quality assurance becomes an integral part of the functioning of the institutions,
the NAAC promotes the establishment of Internal Quality Assurance Cells (IQAC)
in accredited institutions.
INTERNAL QUALITY ASSURANCE CELL (IQAC)
The IQAC is expected to become a
part of an institution's system and work towards realizing the goals of quality
enhancement and sustenance. The prime task of the IQAC is to develop a system
for conscious, consistent and catalytic improvement in the performance of
institutions. It has to be a facilitative and participative voluntary part of the
institution. To help institutions establish the IQACs, guidelines have been
developed by the NAAC. The IQAC is expected to make a significant and
meaningful contribution in the reaccreditation of institutions.
RE-ACCREDITATION
The methodology for
re-accreditation has been finalized incorporating post-accreditation reviews,
feedback from the accredited institutions and the outcome of national
consultations. Accordingly, the next two years will be the period of
institutional preparations and implementation of re-assessment, for higher
education institutions that volunteer for re-accreditation. The institutions
that record their intent to volunteer for reaccreditation and begin
institutional preparations will continue to use the outcome of the first
accreditation
Till
the end of the two-year institutional preparation period or till the
re-accreditation outcome is declared.
THE
METHODOLOGY FOR RE-ACCREDITATION
a) Process of
assessment: The
process of re-assessment and accreditation will be a combination of
self-assessment that results in a report to be submitted by the institution,
and peer validation of the report. Through Information and Communication
Technology (lCT) enabled data management, a part of the quantitative data to be
submitted to NAAC will be in the electronic format.
b)Minimuminstitutionalrequirements:
The establishment of the IQACs and the use of ICT for data
management, with institutional websites will be the minimum institutional
requirements for reaccreditation.
c) Re-accreditation framework: The
existing seven criteria will be followed for reaccreditation with revision and
re-organization in key aspects. The framework for re- accreditation will be
built on five cores
They
are:
1.
Relating to National Development
2.
Fostering Global Competencies among
3.
Students Inculcating the Value System
4.
Promoting the use of Technology
5.
Quest for Excellence
The
specific focus of the framework will be the impact of first accreditation in
three major areas namely quality sustenance efforts of the institution, quality
enhancement activities and action taken on the first assessment report.
d) Outcome: The current nine-point
scale will be followed.
e) Period of
re-accreditation: The validity period of the
re-accredited status will be for seven years from the date of approval of the
status by the Executive Committee. There accredited institution has to record
its intent for the next accreditation by the end of the fifth year and initiate
institutional preparations during the sixth year; reports should be submitted
to the NAAC by the end of the sixth year and the NAAC will conduct the
assessment and declare the accreditation outcome before the end of the- seventh
year. Institutions that do not follow these deadlines will lose the accreditation
status.
f) The fee structure and other financial implications for
re-accreditation will be the same as that being followed for first-time
assessment and accreditation.
APPEALS MECHANISM
NAAC has also prescribed appeals mechanism
after due consideration by the Academic Advisory Committee. An aggrieved
institution can make a written representation to the Director, NAAC with
payment of non-refundable fee of Rs. 20,000/- within one month from the date of
notification of grade by the NAAC. The five-member committee constituted for
the purpose will consider the appeal.
PROVISION
FOR GRADE IMPROVEMENT
Institutions
that would like to make an improvement in the institutional grade may volunteer
for reassessment after completing at least one year of accredited status.
STUDENT PARTICIPATION IN QUALITY ENHANCEMENT
Students are the prime
stakeholders in any system of higher education. Pedagogy, research and support
systems are learner centered and learner building for the benefit of other
stakeholders. Quality is the end product of responsiveness to their educational
and professional needs and also to the need of personal development which has
been the primary concerns the traditional systems of education in the country.
These needs aren’t definable by a monolithic legislative body, be it the
academic council, or such other arrangements with its impersonal codes and
procedures.
Student
aspirations and goals change in a fast changing world. That system in higher
education, which is ready to honor them and shape its curricular and
administrative performance, accordingly, is alone relevant. It can make student
stakeholders partners in planning and governance rather than as a docile
recipients of that which is imposed on them without sensitivity to their changing
needs and aspirations.
The NAAC has emphasized the
importance of making institutional assessment of quality depend substantially
on student interests forming an essential part of the assessment the criteria
of assessment for curricular planning and development insist on providing
adequate course options, strategies for meeting different needs of mixed
ability groups and on student feedback, student progression and the support
systems which enable it. Student participation is engaged in all internal
arrangements for quality assurance including IQAC.
A large number of institutions in this
country have their own success stories to share concerning student
participation in Quality assurance. Some have actively involved them in
academic planning through representation of academic decision-making bodies.
Others have made them effective partners with the institution in extension
work; most personality development programs are student planned, funded and
monitored. A few have involved them in the highest administrative bodies. While
these are sporadic and need closer structuring and coordination, newer
initiatives are necessary to make student active partners in responsible
functional roles so that they can set their agenda within the policy of
governance of this institution.
FUTURE OF ACCREDITATION SYSTEM
FOR EDUCATION SECTOR
The primary purpose of the
accreditation system for the education sector is to provide assurance to the
beneficiaries about the quality of education. There are continuous improvements
to the definition of quality of education. What constitutes a high quality
education is a matter not left to be defined by the educationists alone but
also various other stake holders of the society.
There is other secondary purpose to
the accreditation system. These include the relative ranking of accredited
institutions facilitating recognition of the accredited institutions by
employers and immigration authorities; attracting better students &
facilities, increasing the capacity to obtain projects &financial supports
and so on. The need for accreditation systems assumes a high priority in the
context of the proposed large scale expansion of the accreditation sector,
including the possibility of entry of foreign institutions and programmers in
India. However the nature of the criteria and process associated with different
categories of institutions and programmers will not be same. The programmes
offered through the distance mode offer very special challenges accreditation.
Criteria:
The accreditation system for higher education sector in India is relatively new.
Essentially there are two programmes. The national board of accreditation (NBA)
meant for specific disciples of programs in Engineering/Technology/Management
etc. coming under AICTE. And the accreditation by NAAC (National assessment
&accreditation council) which covers all types of higher education
institutions. There are some overlaps between the two. There is a high degree
of national consensus that the exciting type of accreditation are not able to
cope with the present and the growing demand.
CONCLUSION
We discussed about the role of NAAC
in promoting quality assurance in higher education. Higher education is at the
cross roads. At one end there is high demand for access to higher education,
and at the other the quality is questioned. NAAC has taken a number of steps to
promote the quality of Indian higher education. This also intends to prepare
better trained individuals on quality in higher education. Quality assurance is
not the destination, but a journey to continuously improve and exhibit
excellence.
