Bhubaneswar: Quality of higher education has been one of the important dimensions of NEP 2020. To make significant improvements in the quality of education, the Dr. Radhakrishnan Committee on transformative reforms in Accreditation, approved by the Ministry of Education, Government of India, made several key recommendations. Based on these recommendations, the Executive Committee of the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) has proposed launching reforms in two phases: Binary Accreditation and Maturity-Based Graded Levels.
In the first phase NAAC is planning to launch Binary Accreditation. The Apex Committee and Discipline-wise Committees constituted by the Executive Committee to recommend the new accreditation system held approximately 40 meetings with consultation of stakeholders to finalize the necessary manuals and related processes for Binary accreditation. NAAC is now conducting five regional workshops to gather nationwide feedback from the Universities and Colleges on the Binary accreditation manual before its official launch in the upcoming months. Additionally, NAAC has proposed engaging with the Higher Education Departments and Councils of various states to consult with them about the planned reforms in accreditation, thereby enabling the majority of institutions to participate in the new accreditation process.
Prof. Anil D Sahasrabudhe, Chairman, NAAC, NBA and NETF in his inaugural address Address said that the new National Education Policy (NEP) will help in getting international recognition for higher education. NEP would pave the way for revolutionary changes in the field of higher education in India. This implies that true development can be ensured only by strengthening our cultural values and ethos through a strong education system by reflecting these values in our curriculum and evaluation process. Talking about the skepticism surrounding the process and functioning of NAAC, Prof. Sahasrabudhe emphasized on the need for the universities and institutions of higher education to overcome all distortions relating to the NAAC process and realize the urgency about self- assessment of quality and research in institutions of higher learning. Binary accreditation can be helpful in this regard.
Highlighting on the fact that the present workshop is being organized after extensive discussions and deliberations held at other workshops in other parts of the country in the recent past, Prof. Sahasrabudhe invited views and opinions from all stakeholders present at the workshop to be presented during the discussion session, Elaborating further, he stated that aspects to be captured in the new proposed format included- Ways and means to address and overcome certain common challenges like environmental concerns, ecological imbalance etc., Emphasis on employability. education, Internationalization of higher education and emphasis on the Indian Knowledge Strengthening of value system in higher System.
Dr. Ganesan Kannabiran, Director NAAC presented the features of the Binary Accreditation. The Binary framework is drawn from the 10 Attributes proposed by the Dr. Radhakrishnan Committee. The Attributes are further classified based on Input, Process and Outcome dimensions essential for achieving quality assurance in higher education. The important change in the proposed framework is to focus on “Outcome and its Impact” on the contribution of higher education towards socio-economic development of the nation. The framework is suitably configured to accommodate the requirements of Universities, Autonomous colleges and Affiliated colleges. In addition, the framework captures the uniqueness of institutions that have impacted the specific stakeholders group. The Framework incorporates the situation of rural and remote location institutions, which may be located in Aspirational Districts across the country.
Given the fact that the current percentage of colleges accredited is relatively low, it is proposed to launch several hand holding initiatives to reach out and support institutions to come forward for participation in the accreditation process. In addition, the institutions located in rural and remote locations are likely to receive mentoring support from NAAC in order to ensure on institution is left behind in the new and transformative quality movement. The new framework symbolizes “Ease of doing business and Confidence in system” and enables self-directed motivation towards accreditation without any fear or inhibitions.
The proposed framework is expected to take less cycle time, less accreditation fee and most importantly avoids physical peer team visits to the institutions as part of assessment. Also, the data validation which is largely quantitative, will be carried out by peer institutions to ensure objectivity and correctness of assessment. The proposed tentative framework of 10 Attributes includes 59 metrics for universities, 56 for autonomous colleges, and 46 for affiliated colleges. NAAC had also prepared various discipline-specific manuals suitable for disciplines such as Law, Health Sciences, and Management, etc. to accommodate the specific requirements of these disciplines.
Prof. M.S. Shyamsundar Adviser NAAC presented further details of Metrics and measurement of the framework. Among other Prof. Sabita Acharya, Vice Chancellor, Utkal University, Prof Pallab Banerjee, IIT Khargapur and Prof. Manish R. Joshi, Secretary, UGC were also delivered their speech.
Dr. Priya Narayanan, Assistant Advisor, NAAC has offered welcome address and Prof Nagamanada Das, Director, IQAC, Utkal University coordinate the workshop.
Nationa Assessment And Accreditation Council collaboration with Utkal University organized two day workshop ‘Reforms 2024 Binarry Accreditation, Consultative Workshop Eastern Region. The workshop was attended by about 500 participants including 17 Vice-Chancellors, Head of Academics, coordinators of Quality Assurance Cells of the institutions of Eastern State such as Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhatishgarh, Bihar and West Bengal
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