Maharashtra's Minister of Higher and Technical Education, Chandrakant Patil, has called for changes in the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) procedure. These changes are designed to encourage more evaluations of higher education institutions across the state. The proposal aims to simplify the process, particularly for rural colleges, and offer incentives for participation.
During a recent gathering in Pune attended by Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Minister Patil, the latter personally delivered the letter outlining the proposed modifications to the NAAC process. According to the letter, institutions of higher education would be required to operate on a non-granted or self-financing basis.
Additionally, they must fulfil at least two of the following criteria: either being single-course institutions, situated in notified tribal districts, or located in rural areas with fewer than 500 students or fewer than 10,000 people.
The urgency for these changes arises from the fact that only 20% of higher education institutions have passed the NAAC national-level assessment. The NAAC assessment process is often perceived as complex and costly, discouraging many educational institutions from participating.
Notably, 61.4% of these institutions are located in rural areas, as indicated by the All India Survey of Higher Education (AISHE) Report 2021.
To execute the New Education Policy (NEP) 2020 effectively, the Higher and Technical Education administration recently made NAAC accreditation mandatory for colleges across the state. The department has also devised a three-step method for institutions that fail to comply.
After discussions with college presidents about the challenges they face, Minister Patil drafted the letter to Minister Pradhan, proposing several key changes.
One of these changes suggests having peer team members validate qualitative metrics (QIM) during NAAC visits. This will simplify the evaluation process. It also features a method for reallocating notices and weights for metrics through NAAC.
Patil stressed that reducing the cost of the assessment process would encourage more institutions to participate, ultimately reducing errors. To make the process smooth, he recommended implementing a monetary incentive/fee reimbursement mechanism with contributions from both federal and state governments where necessary.
To support smaller colleges in this endeavour, the government has introduced the "Paris Sparsh" programme and established committees to solve concerns. These initiatives are aimed at bolstering the quality of higher education across the state while promoting accessibility and participation in NAAC assessments.
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