Accreditation to be made mandatory for all varsities, colleges: UGC

To enhance the quality of higher education, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has decided to make accreditation mandatory for all universities and colleges coming under its purview. All universities, institutions of higher learning and colleges in the country in future have to obtain accreditation certificates from National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), Bangalore, to get funds from the UGC for various academic and research programmes.

Speaking to The Hindu on the sidelines of the 5th NAAC accreditation award ceremony on Sunday, UGC Acting Chairman Ved Prakash said: “An order will be issued soon to make accreditation mandatory for all universities and colleges come under the UGC. The rule to make accreditation mandatory will be soon vetted by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD),” he said.

“The accreditation helps an institution to identify its strengths, weaknesses, challenges and opportunities.” All educational institutions coming under UGC must obtain accreditation once in three years, he said. The UGC has already made it mandatory for all institutions to submit accreditation certificate of the NAAC with a minimum ‘B’ grade to get funds under the “Colleges with Potential Excellence” scheme. Otherwise, “the college has to refund the entire amount along with penal interest of 10 per cent to the UGC,” NAAC officials said.

Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Vice-Chancellor Sudhir K. Sopory received accreditation certificate from Prof. Prakash and NAAC Director H.A. Ranganath. JNU received cumulative credit point average of 3.91 and bagged ‘A’ grade certificate (Very Good) from NAAC.

Institutions such as Delhi University, Delhi, and the National Law School of Indian University and Indian Institute of Science (both Bangalore), have not yet applied for accreditation, officials said.

A committee headed by G. Padmanabhan, former Director, IISc, Bangalore, visited the JNU campus and evaluated the quality of education, facilities and infrastructure available, Prof. Sopory told The Hindu. He said the committee spent a few days on the campus and inspected all centres in the university, which has strength of over 7,500 students. Though there was an argument for and against accreditation, “the Academic Council of the University has decided to go in for accreditation. Though we do not care much about the ranking, we felt that it is good that somebody else reviews our academic performance,” Prof. Sopory said.

Source: The Hindu, September 17, 2012

Indian education’s brand image needs to change

Business education in India is often a victim of poor perception outside the country despite the high quality of its students, according to Sharon Bamford, chief executive of the UK-based Association of MBAs, or AMBA, one of the three accrediting bodies globally. Bamford, who was in New Delhi last week, said in an interview that leading Indian business schools need to adopt global rigour, practices and accreditation to improve their image. Edited excerpts:

You are one of the three global accrediting bodies of business education. Where have you marked your presence and what’s your status in India?
We were established in 1967 by MBAs for MBAs. Accreditation is part of our portfolio. We are now in 190 schools around the world. In China, we have 12, in Latin America 29, Moscow alone has eight, France 17. So we have a diverse presence. In India, we now have four schools — MDI (Management Development Institute, in Gurgaon), SP Jain Institute of Management & Research (in Mumbai), and Indian Institute of Management-Lucknow (IIM-L) and IIM-Kozhikode (IIM-K)). Two more are completing their paperwork. We don’t allow B-schools to enter the process unless we think they can complete it.

In a growing economy like India how important is accreditation for B-schools?
Accreditation seems important to the (Indian) government. When we work with a B-school, it’s not just about the school in India, it’s about positioning them globally. There are a number of reasons for international accreditation for business schools. First is quality itself and benchmarking against global standards. Second, it is important for students — they know it’s a quality programme globally benchmarked and audited. We look at the finance of the school, the faculty, their publication, the experience of the students, the learning environment and, of course, the curriculum while evaluating.

More management students from India are in the global marketplace than anywhere else. In India, it could be a fabulous school and well-respected but that branding might not be anything in the global stage. If a student graduates from one of our accredited schools, it means the employer who might not know the school, (will) understand the quality (if it is) in the family of AMBA-accredited schools.

Will this help bring international students to such schools?
Indian schools which have accreditation can attract more foreign students to their classrooms. Many of the top schools have international partnerships anyway. The operating environment is going to be truly international. I have travelled to the accredited institutes (in India), they look so confident. They take up local issues. IIM-Kozhikode has taken spirituality to develop leadership among students. Reverse innovation will help the business education. Exchange of students are now happening more and more, not just for a week but a semester. The next thing will be attracting international students for full programmes.

Do you think management education in India is a victim of perception despite the high calibre of the students?
In terms of understanding the Indian education system, I would know that it is outstanding, the calibre of students is of top rate. For many people outside India, who would not know, they don’t understand the institutions, the branding and positioning. Once you have an international accreditation, it helps in articulating that through rigour, order and through compliance. That brand image of Indian education needs to change. I have travelled and know the quality, calibre and vibrancy and growth of India. But a European employer, let’s say, would not know.

Source: Mint, April 10, 2012

Engineers may soon find it easier to work, study abroad

In two months, India is likely to become a permanent member of an international accord that will make its graduate engineering degrees recognized among all member-states. Permanent membership of the Washington Accord will benefit hundreds of thousands of students from more than 3,000 engineering colleges in the country, said the All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), which regulates technical education. It will make the four-year bachelor of technology (B.Tech.) degree offered by AICTE-approved and accredited institutes equivalent to similar degrees offered in 13 other permanent member countries of the accord. These are the US, the UK, Australia, Canada, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Ireland, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and South Africa.

Besides making it easier for Indian engineers to study further, or work in these countries, India’s permanent membership will also facilitate faculty exchanges, international collaborations and joint research work. Engineering students who have already graduated may not enjoy the same benefits.

“A two-member committee is visiting New Delhi in early February to meet us and tour several engineering colleges in the country in this regard. Our aspiration to become a permanent member should get realized soon after,” AICTE Chairman S.S. Mantha said. The panel will include a member each from the US and Singapore.

The Washington Accord came into existence in 1989. To become its permanent member, a country needs to be a temporary member for two years. India’s temporary membership will expire in July 2011. Russia, Turkey, Germany, Pakistan and Sri Lanka also currently hold temporary membership. While taking the temporary membership, India asked for a review of its accreditation system and the standard of its engineering degrees. After the review, a team suggested reforms in the accreditation system.

Mantha said over the past 18 months, AICTE has been implementing these changes, such as online application processing and clearance of accreditation. The system has also been made more transparent, with institutes posting infrastructure and faculty details on their as well as the AICTE’s website. A better monitoring system has also been put in place.

“This academic session, all fresh permission and renewal of AICTE recognition was done online. The monitoring was regular and the educational institutes were also cooperative in uploading a variety of details. We hope this has strengthened our stand,” Mantha said. AICTE, which is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), has sent a preliminary report to the accord committee on the changes brought in over the past year, he added.

J. Veeraraghavan, former education secretary, said India should become a member of the accord if it helps improve the quality and accreditation standards of engineering education. “We should go for improving (the) quality of our engineering degrees through this. If it talks about relaxing our regulating standard, then we should refrain.” The accord will increase the global mobility of Indian engineers, said Veeraraghavan, who is now the director of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, an educational trust. “India should not worry about brain drain as we have a huge manpower pool. India can increase the engineering student intake and fulfil its demand, as well as the demand of some other countries,” he added. India produces nearly 800,000 engineers every year. The Union government plans to add 200,000 more seats in the next academic year.

India’s permanent membership of the Washington Accord will not benefit the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), a group of 15 elite engineering colleges that has its own reguatory mechanism, and does not fall under AICTE’s purview. IITs already have collaborations with leading overseas institutes.

Source: Mint, December 30, 2010