Third-Party Agencies, Government & Semi-Government Agencies to Accredit Educational Institutes
UGC has come up with a new regulation to allow third-party agencies to grant accreditation to institutes. IITs and IIMs (Indian Institutes of Technology) will be one of the new accrediting agencies.
Apart from National Board of Accreditation (NBA) and National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), third-party agencies will be empowered to accredit the higher learning institutes across the country. With a motive to allow third-party agencies to grant accreditation to institutes, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has come up with a new regulation. The new regulation has been passed and it will bring a new exposure to the Indian institutes. Recently, Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has approved the new regulation of UGC in this regard.
Union HRD Minister, Mr. Prakash Javadekar explained that the government had consulted IITs and IIMs. and urged them to be the new accreditation agencies apart from private or third-party agencies. The government wants to make the accreditation process more scientific and tough with an aim to improve the quality of education. The overall performance of higher learning institutes in India will be improved due to the ranking and rating, he added.
According to sources, IITs (Indian Institutes of Technology) will be one of the new accrediting agencies. The premier institutes have agreed to set up Section 8 Company through which IITs will apply for a license under the new regulation of UGC.
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An official associated with UGC revealed that it was the idea of the Union Government to involve IITs to the accreditation process. If more accreditation agencies take up the responsibility of assessing the higher learning institutes, NBA and NAAC will be relieved from a heavy burden, he added.
As per UGC rules, the institutes will be evaluated on five parameters including: -
- Research and Innovation
- Curriculum Design and Development
- Physical Infrastructure and Learning Resources
- Teaching and Learning Outcomes
- Leadership and Management
Private organisations or agencies that are keen to take part in the accreditation process must satisfy the eligibility norms prescribed by UGC. According to UGC rules, private agencies should be either a society or Section 8 Company, and it should be in existence for at least three years.
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Based on the suggestions and advice of Accreditation Advisory Council (AAC), UGC will empower the third-party agencies to assess and grant accreditation to educational institutes. The AAC comprises 10 members. Cabinet Secretary will constitute the AAC soon. According to UGC rules, one-third of AAC members will retire every two years.
The official rules regarding the recognition of their-party, government and semi-government agencies were notified by MHRD and UGC in August 2018.
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