State sets time limit for colleges’ accreditation

The GR issued by RG Jadhav,deputy secretary of higher and technical education,on October 8 has observed that 75 per cent of the educational institutes from across the state have never done their assessment hence do not have any accreditation.

Of around 3,000 colleges in the state only about 700 have done their assessment and have received accreditation from the bodies concerned.

There are various accreditation bodies such national assessment and accreditation council (NAAC) and national board of accreditation (NBA) that assess the performance of traditional as well as professional colleges and provide grades based on assessment. Colleges in the state were expected to undergo the assessment process by 2003. However,except a few colleges,others did not pay heed.

Now,the state government has decided to act strict against such colleges. The GR clearly states that such negligence would not be tolerated henceforth. Universities have been asked to continuously keep a close eye on the colleges and check whether they submit the proposals for assessment regularly.

Varsities have also been asked to review the colleges every three months and send the report to higher as well as technical directorate.

The GR while underlining the importance of carrying out accreditation process has pointed out that the quality of higher education has been deteriorating owing to various factors; non-compliance to assessment norms being one of the important issues. Chancellor K Sankarnarayanan had also expressed concern over the issue in the recently held meeting of joint board of vice chancellors.