NAAC to complete grading of varsities by 2002

By Our Staff Correspondent

TUMKUR, JULY 31. The National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), an autonomous coordinating agency of the University Grants Commission (UGC), has completed the assessment and grading of 40 universities and 160 colleges in the country.

The Director of NAAC, Dr. V.N.Rajashekharan Pillai, who is also the Vice-Chancellor of Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, told The Hindu here on Monday that a schedule had been drawn up to complete assessment and grading of all universities in the country by the end of 2002. A similar exercise in respect of colleges would be completed by the end of 2003.

Dr. Pillai said except technological institutions, which would be assessed by the National Board of Accreditation constituted by the All-India Council for Technical Education, all universities, (including technological varsities), and all colleges (including medical) would be assessed and graded by NAAC. The UGC had made it mandatory for universities and colleges to get assessed and graded once every five years.

Making it clear that the NAAC was not playing a regulatory role, Dr. Pillai said the objective was to bring about qualitative improvement in higher education and promote inter-varsity and inter-institutional interaction among administrators and academics. ``We have succeeded in securing the full involvement of vice-chancellors, Senate and Syndicate members of the universities in the assessment exercise.''

Elaborating on the assessment and grading taken up by the NAAC, Dr. Pillai said in the first phase, the institution was helped to make a self-assessment of its functioning. In the next phase, a peer team of five experts from various varsities or institutes would visit it for an on-the-spot evaluation of its assessment.

Dr. Pillai said unlike the regulatory bodies issuing a certificate of merit or recognition, the peer team would make an indepth study of the origin and growth of the institution. He said: ``Every institute is founded to fulfil an objective. It will be verified if the stated mission has been achieved.''

``It is not just the examination results, but the track record of the institute and its image in the area will also be considered. The team will prepare a 12-page evaluation digest with particulars of the institute's strengths and weaknesses. Threats to the institute, if any, will be noted so that steps are are taken to combat them,'' he said.

``Concern for the healthy growth of the institute will be shared by the peer team with due weightage to the views of the institute's management, teachers and students. A course of action for its development will be evolved mutually,'' he said.

In the final phase, Dr. Pillai said, the institute would be graded as one-star (for 55 per cent score in performance), two- star (56 to 60), three-star (61 to 65), four-star (66 to70) and five-star ( for 75 per cent and above).

Dr. Pillai said the NAAC had taken a revolutionary step in allowing separate assessment and grading of each department in the colleges.

Since the founding of the NAAC in 1994, Dr. Pillai said there had been a constant endeavour to create an awareness among colleges over quality education. A Quality Assurance Cell had been set up in the NAAC with specialists from various universities. Each college would be guided to introduce the Quality Sustenance Management so that a vigil was kept on possible fall in academic and administrative standards.

Dr. Pillai said the NAAC exercise had generated a healthy competition among colleges. He said the Union HRD Ministry had appreciated the exercise as it would help in recasting the National Educational Policy.

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