Private Colleges With High NAAC Score Can Seek Autonomy'

NEW INDIAN EXPRESS

BENGALURU: Affiliated private colleges can now secure autonomous status if they have secured high grades from National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC). This is if the college gets permission from the university it is affiliated to, said Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Smriti Irani, here on Tuesday.

She was speaking at a national conference on “Making India a Global Hub for Quality Higher Education,” organised by the Education Promotion Society of India.

She also agreed with the recommendation made by a few private varsities to not have a government nominee on their Boards of Managements. However, she said that if the varsity had to engage with the University Grants Commission (UGC), a nominee from UGC will have to be selected.

Speaking at the venue, Prof D P Singh, Director, NAAC, Bengaluru, said that in order to be an important player in the global arena, Indian higher education needs to adopt a truly global outlook. “It involves international collaborations for teaching, research and training along with faculty-student exchange programmes. Our curriculum also needs to match global standards,” he said. A new Education Policy is being formulated and many schemes and reforms are in the pipeline in the education sector, he added.

AICTE Approval

Speaking of annual approvals for various courses from All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE), Irani said such practices will be put to an end. Approval for courses will be equated with the accreditation granted to the varsities, which is for a period of five years.

The National Achievement Survey, which is conducted once every three years by National Council of Educational Research and Training, will henceforth be conducted every year in all states, she said. Irani said the annual data collection exercise will help in improving the quality of education.

Hike in Fees

If the demands of private medical colleges are heeded by the Medical Education Department, it is likely that their fee will go up ‘substantially’. Medical Education Minister Sharan Prakash Patil said the demand is yet to be considered by the Department. He said three medical colleges will open in the next academic year in Karwar, Chamarajanagar and Madikeri, and will have a combined intake of 150 students.