INTRODUCTION
The core mission of higher
education is to educate, train, undertake, research and provide service to the
community. The Higher Education in India is the Second largest system in the
world. It has witnessed many fold increase in its institutional capacity since
independence- from 1950 to 2012, the number of universities from 20 to about
431, colleges from 500 to 20,677 and teachers from 15, to 5.05 Lakhs with
student enrollment from 1.00 lakh to over 116.12 Lakhs. Then to protect the
quality of the higher education institutions, the
National Policy Mission propose the Accreditation unit. Based on this, University Grants Commission
(UGC), under section 12 CCC of the UGC Act (Act 3 of 1956), established the
National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) as an Autonomous
Institution on 16 September 1994 with Registered Office at Bangalore.
please consider subscribing our video channel
The National Assessment and Accreditation Council is in its 18th year of operation now. Seventeen years may not mean a long time in the annals of Indian higher education, which may data back to the ancient period of ‘Nalanda’ and ‘Takshashila’, but it can certainly be a sufficiently long period for a National Quality Assurance Agency to take stock of its policies and practices. The decade-old history of NAAC is a story of many triumphs and tribulations. Addressing the quality concerns of world’s second largest higher education system has meant, adding several dimensions to the experiences of quality assurance initiatives of NAAC. Quality assurance models, as with higher education systems themselves, are designed to fulfill long- term collective needs. The quality assurance agencies are obliged to face enduring questions such as defining and maintaining standards of quality and equally important need to keep their methodologies up- to –date and responsive to shifting societal needs. The important actions and methodologies of NAAC are explained here.
The National Assessment and Accreditation Council is in its 18th year of operation now. Seventeen years may not mean a long time in the annals of Indian higher education, which may data back to the ancient period of ‘Nalanda’ and ‘Takshashila’, but it can certainly be a sufficiently long period for a National Quality Assurance Agency to take stock of its policies and practices. The decade-old history of NAAC is a story of many triumphs and tribulations. Addressing the quality concerns of world’s second largest higher education system has meant, adding several dimensions to the experiences of quality assurance initiatives of NAAC. Quality assurance models, as with higher education systems themselves, are designed to fulfill long- term collective needs. The quality assurance agencies are obliged to face enduring questions such as defining and maintaining standards of quality and equally important need to keep their methodologies up- to –date and responsive to shifting societal needs. The important actions and methodologies of NAAC are explained here.
QUALITY movement in Indian HIGHER EDUCATION
The
British Standard Institution (BSI) defines quality as “the totality of features
and characteristics of a product or service that bear on its ability to satisfy
stated or implied needs” (BSI, 1991). As teachers, principals, heads of
departments and planners and policy makers in education, you may be having this
question in your mind – why worry about quality? This is because of the
following reasons:
1. COMPETITION: - We are
entering a new regime, where competition among educational institutions for
students and funds will be highly significant. In order to survive in such a
situation, educational institutions need to worry about their quality.
2. CUSTOMER SATISFACTION:
- Students, parents or sponsoring agencies as customers of the educational
institutions are now highly conscious of their rights or getting value for
their money and time spent.
3. MAINTAINING STANDARDS:
- As educational institutions, we are always concerned about setting our own
standard and maintaining it continuously year after year. In order to maintain
the standard, we should consciously make efforts to improve quality of the
educational transactions as well as the educational provisions and facilities.
4. ACCOUNTABILITY: Every institution is
accountable to its stakeholders in terms of the funds (public or private) used
on it.
5. IMPROVE EMPLOYEE MORALE AND
MOTIVATION: Your concern for quality as an
institution will improve the morale and motivation of the staff in performing
their duties and responsibilities
6. CREDIBILITY, PRESTIGE AND STATUS:
If you are concerned about quality, continuously and not once in a while, it
will bring in credibility to individuals and your institution because of
consistency leading to prestige, status and brand value.
7. IMAGE AND VISIBILITY:
Quality institutions have the capacity to attract better stakeholder support,
like getting merited students from far and near, increased donations/ grants
from philanthropists/ funding agencies and higher employer interest for easy
placement of graduates.
The
important quality movements in India are explained below:
The
University Grants Commission (UGC) with its statutory powers is expected to
maintain quality in Indian higher education institutions. Section 12 of the UGC
Act of 1956 requires UGC to be responsible for “the determination and
maintenance of standards of teaching, examinations and research in
universities”. To fulfill this mandate, the UGC has been continuously developing
mechanisms to monitor quality in colleges and universities directly or
indirectly. In order to improve quality, it has established national research
facilities, and Academic Staff Colleges to re-orient teachers and provide
refresher courses in subject areas. The UGC also conducts the National
Eligibility Test (NET) for setting high standards of teaching. Various
committees and commissions on education over the years have emphasized directly
or indirectly the need for improvement and recognition of quality in Indian
higher education system. The concept of autonomous colleges as recommended by
Kothari Commission (1964-66) has its roots in the concept of quality
improvement. Since the adoption of the National Policy on Education (1968),
there has been a tremendous expansion of educational opportunities at all
levels, particularly in higher education. With the expansion of educational
institutions, came the concern for quality. The constitutional amendment in
1976 brought education to the concurrent list making the central government
more responsible for quality improvement. The New Education Policy (1986)
emphasized on the recognition and reward of excellence in performance of
institutions and checking of sub-standard institutions. Consequently, the
Programme of Action (PoA) in 1986 stated, “As a part of its responsibility for
the maintenance and promotion of standards of education, the UGC will, to begin
with, take the initiative to establish an Accreditation and Assessment Council
as an autonomous body”. After eight years of continuous and serious
deliberations, the UGC established NAAC at Bangalore as a registered autonomous
body on 16th September 1994 under the Societies Registration Act of 1860.
HISTORY OF NAAC
The
milestones in the emergence of NAAC can be identified as follows:
1986:
UGC constituted a 15-member committee on Accreditation and Assessment Council
under the chairmanship of Dr. Vasant Gowarikar.
1987-1990:
Nine regional seminars and a national seminar organized to debate Gowarikar
Committee report.
1990:
Dr Sukumaran Nair’s project report submitted to UGC that reflected a consensus
to have an accreditation agency accountable to UGC.
1992:
The revised New Education Policy reiterated all round improvement of
educational institutions.
1994:
Prof. G. Ram Reddy committee appointed to finalize the memorandum of
association and rules and regulation of the accreditation board (July 1994).
1994:
National Assessment and Accreditation Council established at Bangalore
(September 1994).
VISION AND MISSON
VISION: - To make quality the quality
defining element of higher education in India through a combination of self and
external quality evaluation, promotion and sustenance initiatives.
MISSION
v To arrange for periodic assessment and
accreditation of institutions of higher education or units thereof, or specific
academic programmes or projects;
v To stimulate the academic environment for
promotion of quality of teaching-learning and research in higher education
institutions;
v To encourage self-evaluation, accountability,
autonomy and innovations in higher education;
v To undertake quality-related research
studies, consultancy and training programmes, and
v To collaborate with other stakeholders of
higher education for quality evaluation, promotion and sustenance.
Guided by its vision and striving to achieve
its mission, the NAAC primarily assesses the quality of institutions of higher
education that volunteer for the process, through an internationally accepted
methodology.
VALUE FRAMEWORK
To
promote cognizance developments and the role of higher education in society,
NAAC (2004) has developed five core values:
1. Contributing to national development
2. Fostering global competencies among students
3. Inculcating a value system in students
4. Promoting the use of technology
5. Quest for excellence
Governance Structure
NAAC’s working is governed by the General
Council (GC) and the Executive Committee (EC) on which University Grants
Commission (UGC), All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), Ministry
of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Association of Indian Universities (AIU),
Universities, Colleges and other professional institutions are represented.
Senior academics and educational administrators are nominated as members on
these two bodies.
President- General Council: - Prof. Ved
Prakash has held eminent positions in a number of premier organizations dealing
with Higher education, School education, and Personnel selection.
Chairman- Executive Committee: -Clause 19(b)
of the Rules of NAAC- Every meeting of the executive committee shall be
presided over by the Chairperson of the executive committee and in his/her
absence by the Vice Chairman of UGC, and in the absence of both the senior most
member of the Executive Committee.
COMMITTEES
NAAC functions through its General Council
(GC) and Executive Committee (EC) and other academic, advisory and
administrative sub committees. NAAC draws its expertise from senior academics
of undoubted integrity from all over India.
Important committees under NAAC are as
follows:
1. General Council
2. Executive Committee
3. Finance Committee
4. Building Committee
5. Appeals Committee
6. Purchase Committee
7. CRIEQA Committee
Instrumentation and Methodology
A new methodology was introduced in April
2007, as per this methodology, the higher education institutions are assessed
and accredited in a two step approach.
In the first step, the institution is
required to seek Institutional Eligibility for Quality Assessment (IEQA) and
the second step is the assessment and accreditation of the institution. NAAC
has identified seven criteria-Curricular Aspects, Teaching, Learning and Education, Researches,
Consultancy and Extension, Infrastructure and learning Resources, Student support and Progression, Governance and
Leadership and Innovative practices.
The methodology of NAAC is evolved over 15
years and has undergone several changes based on feedback from stakeholders to
match pace with changing higher education scenario. In keeping with this
tradition NAAC has initiated stakeholder consultation process of a long time
also having contributed to the evolution of NAAC.
The Assessment and Accreditation is in three
dimensions which are explained below:
1. ON-LINE SUBMISSION OF A LETTER
2.
PREPARATION OF SELF STUDY REPORT” – The first
and most important step in the process of assessment is the submission of the
self study report to NAAC. NAAC believes that an institution that really
understands itself- its strengths and weaknesses, its potentials and
limitations. Self- study is thus envisaged as the backbone of the process of
assessment. NAAC insists that the report contain two parts. Part I may contain
data about the institution under the seven criteria for assessment for which
NAAC has developed a format. Based on the data collected in part I, the
institution is expected to analyze its functioning and performance, and
self-analysis becomes part II of the self- study report.
3. PEER TEAM
VISIT: -The selection of team members
and their subsequent visit to the unit of accreditation are stages in a process
that begins as soon as an institution submits its self- study report. The visit
by the peer team gives the institution an opportunity to discuss and find ways
of consolidating and improving the academic environment. As the first step to
constitute the peer team, NAAC identifies a panel, from the extensive database
of experts, with national- level representation and consults the institution
about any justifiable reservations it may have regarding any member of the
panel. During the on-site visit, keeping in mind philosophy of NAAC, the peer
team does an objective assessment of the quality of education offered in the
institution through three major activities- visiting departments and
facilities, interacting with various constituencies of the institution and
checking documentary evidences.
4. GRADING
AND CERTIFICATION: - The
major role of the peer team is to provide the institutional score and the
detailed assessment report. The rest of the process is to be performed by NAAC
as directed by the executive committee. If overall score is not less than 55%,
the institution obtains the accredited status. Accredited institutions are
graded on a five- point scale with the following scale values:
GRADE
|
INSTITUTIONAL
SCORE
|
A++
|
95-100
|
A+
|
90-95
|
A
|
85-90
|
B++
|
80-85
|
B+
|
75-80
|
B
|
70-75
|
C++
|
65-70
|
C+
|
60-65
|
C
|
55-60
|
Institutions, which do not attain the minimum
55% points for accreditation, would also be intimated and notified indicating
that the institution is “assessed and found not qualified for accreditation”.
After EC’s decision, the institution is informed of the overall grade along
with the criterion- wise scores and the information is included on the website. `
Quality Initiatives by NAAc
1. Quality Sustenance and Promotion by sensitizing institutions
to the concepts such as credit transfer, student mobility and mutual recognition
2.
Establishment of State-Level Quality Assurance Co-ordination Committees
(SLQACCs) in different States
3.
Networking among accredited institutions in order to promote exchange of
"Best/Innovative Practices”
4.
Dissemination of Best/Innovative Practices through seminar/workshops and NAAC
publications
5.
Financial support to accredited institutions for conducting
seminars/conferences/ workshops etc. on quality issues in Higher Education
6.
Establishment of Internal Quality Assurance Cells
7.
State-wise analysis of Accreditation Reports for policy initiatives
8.
Promoting the concept of Lead College and Cluster of Colleges for Quality
initiatives
9.
Research grants for faculty of accredited institutions to execute projects on
different themes / case studies
10.
Initiation of student involvement for quality enhancement
11.
Developing international linkages for mutual recognition through accreditation
Role of
NAAC in changing scenario
Role of NAAC in the changing scenario of higher education needs to
be redefined with respect to recognition cum accreditation, programme
accreditation, national level ranking of universities, preparation of national
benchmarks, national and international database, research and development
centre, developing reports and policy papers to Government of India (GOI),
accreditation of multiple accreditation agencies, recognition of regional/state
level accreditation bodies etc.
Assessment
and Accreditation by NAAC may be made mandatory for all higher education
institutions of the country.
·
NAAC may start programme accreditation
·
Ranking of institutions may not be very much relevant when
compared to grading
·
All accreditation agencies including NAAC are to be accredited
once in three years.
·
While NAAC could be accredited by recognized international
accreditation bodies, NAAC could perform this function for all the multiple
accreditation agencies getting recognized by Government of India (GOI).
·
NAAC grading and duration of accreditation may be linked and
longer period of accreditation may be considered for the third cycle of
institutional accreditation.
·
NAAC needs to continue to be an Apex Assessment and Accreditation
body for higher education institution, in the country providing vision and
leadership.
NAAC
suggestions
NAAC
suggestions for overall development of the higher educational institutions,
given below;
1. Since the
state Govt. is deputing a large number of teachers for undergoing B.Ed
programme, this is making the classes a bit crowded.
2. Further, the Govt. colleges in the state are
under the dual control of the University on one side and the Govt. on the
other. Would it be
possible for the Govt. & the University to make these colleges as
constituent colleges of the University, thus paving the way for their better
growth & development?
3. In view of the
increased number of seats & diversification of courses, the college needs
to have more number of teachers, especially in languages.
4. Laboratory
facility needs to be enriched and expanded.
5. College should
have a well equipped language lab, especially in view of the fact that every
B.Ed Trainee opts for one language.
6.
The college caters to the academic needs of the students who came from far
off areas like Kargil and Ladakh; it needs to have hostels for boys and
girls students.
7. As internship
& practice of teaching are separately shown in the syllabus,
internship needs to be streamlined & broad based.
8. Provision of
some merit cum means scholarships need to be made for students from weaker
section of society in view of the trend of increase in fee structure every
year.
9. The suggestions
put forth by the faculty to the University that the Project work should
not be group work, needs immediate attention to avoid discrimination.
10. The Computer
lab should be expanded, have more qualified Teachers; Faculty improvement
programme should be strengthened.
Challenges ahead in higher
education
The
recent developments mainly globalization of education and the extensive use of
educational technology have made the issue of quality measurement even more
complex. The quality assurance systems have to constantly modify their
procedure to address a growing variety of open and distance learning
opportunities, which is stimulated by the use of information technologies. The
review procedures developed for conventional system are hardly sufficient for
electronic delivery methods, which has a wider reach.
A
large number of institutions are offering distance education programmes. They
use multimedia strategies, enroll higher number of students of heterogeneous
backgrounds and differ considerably in their capacities to use electronic media
and delivery infrastructure. The development has serious implications for
quality assurance agencies.
A
similar concern arises in the context of international students’ mobility due
to globalization of education. When student enroll in other countries of
foreign universities offering programmes in the students home country, the
study plans must be evaluated to establish equivalence of their degree
programmes.
The
emergence of private higher education institution is also a greater concern to
maintain quality and standard. Privatization creates little problem but the
commercialization of self financing institutions create lot of problems for
maintaining quality as making profit is their main concern. They run the
institution without well qualified staff, needed infrastructure, student
facilities, research etc. In such type of institutions, the relationship
between the capacity to offer quality programmes and the scale of delivery of
services is hard to establish. Because of the internationalization of
education, the solution to the major issues and problems concerning quality
assurance should be sought through co-operation among institutions and
countries. Therefore, global effort is needed to deal with the challenge to
quality assurance.
CONCLUSION
An Internal Quality Assurance Cell has to play crucial role in
protecting the quality of education service in India. The establishment of this
cell is a mandatory task before every higher education institution that is
planning to go for NAAC accreditation. Educational Institution, NAAC, AICTE,
UGC and state and central governments has to impose certain kind of
restrictions on every higher education institution in quality aspects of the
service delivery which will place them in certain pressure in different quality
dimensions. Now everybody has realized the importance of quality deliverables
in this sector to protect the local institutions from the foreign institutions
which has already entered into the country and received prominent response from
the prospective students’. If our higher education institutions and regulatory
bodies failed to maintain quality aspects in delivering the quality education
service; those institutions definitely will disappear from the education map of
India. Therefore sustaining quality in this crucial sector which will mould the
future of our upcoming generations is a prime responsibility of our education
system which will be possible only through continuous monitoring with the
support of Internal Quality Assurance Cell of every Higher Education
Institution.
Its very informative and research oriented.I feel there needs some more articles with more description so that students of higher education can utilize it..I think posts like this may be more useful
ReplyDeleteQuality of the institutes of higher education needs to be checked and improved timely..and that`s what is done by NAAC accredation..the above provided information is quite helpful for students like me, who are a little bit confused about, how to decide which college should be selected..Such posts are highly useful...and appreciable.
ReplyDelete