Why we are not in the top 100

The NAAC director analyses the weaknesses of the Indian higher education system and the long road to accredited status.

Accreditation has always been considered a powerful tool to ensure quality in education. After many failed attempts to convince institutes of higher education institutions to get accredited voluntarily, it has now come to a stage where only imposing can make it possible. The passing of the National Accreditation Regulatory Authority for Higher Educational Institutions Bill, 2010 (already introduced in Parliament), will make accreditation mandatory for all universities and colleges in future.

The National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), an autonomous body of the University Grants Commission, has over a period of time strived to improve the quality of higher education through the process of assessment and accreditation by partnering with institutions with minimum standards in place. The fact that only around 130 out of 600 universities and 2,800 out of 30,000 colleges have received accreditation in the country speaks volumes about the quality of higher education in the country.

Talking to Education Plus, H.A. Ranganath, Director, NAAC, said there is very poor motivation among institutions. They have to realise that accreditation is a mark of quality. It is a benchmark by which stakeholders assess an institution. Quality should be the focus right from the day a college is born. It is a journey that should start from day one of the functioning of a college. Unfortunately, that is not the situation now.

“Permission is sought to open an institution, but there is no regulation to insist that the institution seeks permission to start admissions. Starting an institution and beginning admissions for courses should be viewed as two different things. With minimum infrastructure, faculty, and facilities, and without accreditation, admissions are allowed for various courses. An institution, when it begins with no basic pre-natal research, takes birth with congenital disorders and defects leading to evolutionary problems in quality assurance and maintenance of standards. Even with such serious limitations and shortcomings, students are admitted to courses.

“It is not only the colleges, but also universities are being created without proper representation of faculty members, human resource, infrastructure and so on. The university has the moral authority to provide leadership to affiliated colleges. But huge and expansive numbers, in terms of colleges, may strangulate the functioning of a university. Ultimately, a university fails to maintain standards and quality suffers.

“Given the facts and figures, it can be seen that the Indian higher education system has reached great heights in terms of expansion and multiplicity.

The expansion of the system has brought with it a degree of high diversity and pluralism. It is replete with Central universities, State universities, private universities, deemed-to-be universities, and various others institutions of higher education.

The scenario will turn more complex with the distinct possibility of the entry of foreign universities. So, it is imperative that we raise our standards.

“A brief glance at the top 100 research universities reveals a grim picture that is sure to leave you gasping for breath. In stark contrast to the growth and expansion, not a single Indian university figures in this list. The picture is clear. The Indian universities have not made it to the quality ladder in the international arena. There is a dire need to introspect where we have gone wrong,” he laments.

Mr. Ranganath also stresses the importance of sustaining the quality as many institutions do not believe in renewing accreditation.

Institutions should ensure that quality is sustained as a continuous process. They have to make self-assessments on a regular basis and should not wait for an authority to visit the college once in five years to do it for them, says Mr. Ranganath.