The Radhakrishnan Committee appointed by the Ministry of Education is working to make the accreditation process for Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) a two-tier structure by constituting National Accreditation Council (NAC).
The Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan recently held a meeting to review the developments, which was attended by the senior members of the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), the University Grants Commission (UGC), and the National Educational Technology Forum (NETF).
The Radhakrishnan Committee, headed by former ISRO chief Dr K Radhakrishnan was set up in November 2022 to restructure the accreditation of HEIs by bringing changes in the current accreditation and ranking systems. UGC will support the Ministry, which will increase the participation of more institutes. In March, Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) pulled up NAAC for glaring discrepancies in its assessment process.
“Accreditation and ranking are complex tasks requiring continual upgradation. I am mindful that the qualitative and quantitative methods used by NAAC need careful examination and improvements,” M Jagadesh Kumar, chairperson, UGC, told TOI.
Prof Manish Ratnakar Joshi, secretary, UGC, says, “UGC is helping in streamlining the accreditation process so that the entire process becomes both transparent and qualitative. Introducing changes in the accreditation system is continuous and constantly evolving. The Radhakrishnan committee is working to bring the proposed changes and will soon submit its report that would suggest the list of changes to accommodate modern-day colleges and universities having more professional courses.”
Speaking to Education Times, Anil Joseph Pinto, registrar, Christ University, Bangalore, says, “Currently, there exist two accreditation bodies which are the National Assessment Accreditation Council (NAAC) and the National Board of Accreditation (NBA) that accredit institutions and the courses, respectively. The two-tier accreditation system will streamline the process, in sync with the objectives of NEP 2020.”
Based on the recommendations of the Radhakrishnan Committee, the central government will establish NAC under which various government and private accrediting agencies would work. Once NAC is established, the accreditation system in the country would become a two-tier system and NAAC would be one of the accrediting agencies under NAC. Apart from NAAC, other accreditation agencies that would be established by the consortium of government and private HEIs and organisations would also be empaneled as the accrediting agencies.”
“The committee would consult NAAC, HEIs, and other stakeholders in order to recommend the new structure of accreditation,” adds Pinto.
“The two-tier system would qualitatively enhance the accreditation system in the country and would be instrumental in accrediting more institutions which would raise the quality of higher education levels in the country. Currently, less than 10% of the institutions in the country are accredited,” says Pinto.
The Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan recently held a meeting to review the developments, which was attended by the senior members of the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), the University Grants Commission (UGC), and the National Educational Technology Forum (NETF).
The Radhakrishnan Committee, headed by former ISRO chief Dr K Radhakrishnan was set up in November 2022 to restructure the accreditation of HEIs by bringing changes in the current accreditation and ranking systems. UGC will support the Ministry, which will increase the participation of more institutes. In March, Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) pulled up NAAC for glaring discrepancies in its assessment process.
“Accreditation and ranking are complex tasks requiring continual upgradation. I am mindful that the qualitative and quantitative methods used by NAAC need careful examination and improvements,” M Jagadesh Kumar, chairperson, UGC, told TOI.
Prof Manish Ratnakar Joshi, secretary, UGC, says, “UGC is helping in streamlining the accreditation process so that the entire process becomes both transparent and qualitative. Introducing changes in the accreditation system is continuous and constantly evolving. The Radhakrishnan committee is working to bring the proposed changes and will soon submit its report that would suggest the list of changes to accommodate modern-day colleges and universities having more professional courses.”
Speaking to Education Times, Anil Joseph Pinto, registrar, Christ University, Bangalore, says, “Currently, there exist two accreditation bodies which are the National Assessment Accreditation Council (NAAC) and the National Board of Accreditation (NBA) that accredit institutions and the courses, respectively. The two-tier accreditation system will streamline the process, in sync with the objectives of NEP 2020.”
Based on the recommendations of the Radhakrishnan Committee, the central government will establish NAC under which various government and private accrediting agencies would work. Once NAC is established, the accreditation system in the country would become a two-tier system and NAAC would be one of the accrediting agencies under NAC. Apart from NAAC, other accreditation agencies that would be established by the consortium of government and private HEIs and organisations would also be empaneled as the accrediting agencies.”
“The committee would consult NAAC, HEIs, and other stakeholders in order to recommend the new structure of accreditation,” adds Pinto.
“The two-tier system would qualitatively enhance the accreditation system in the country and would be instrumental in accrediting more institutions which would raise the quality of higher education levels in the country. Currently, less than 10% of the institutions in the country are accredited,” says Pinto.
