New Delhi: Accreditation is to be made compulsory for all institutes of higher education, apart from the fact that they get government grants, was informed in the Parliament. Kapil Sibal, Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister, said that the law has been drafted in the Rajya Sabha. He also added that the Ministry is engaged in inter-ministerial discussions and soon, it would bring the educational bill, before the cabinet and hope to introduce the same, in the budget session of the Parliament (beginning February 2010).
Mr Sibal also said that once the law comes into effect, all institutions of higher learning, regardless of whether they award degrees, diplomas or other certificates, and regardless of whether they receive aid from the University Grants Commission (UGC), will have to get themselves registered with the National Accreditation and Assessment Council (NAAC). He further added that the main intention behind this step is that all institutions of higher learning must be compulsorily and mandatorily accredited.
Sibal said the NAAC had identified a seven-stage accreditation procedure covering the following major areas:
- Curricular aspects,
- Teaching, learning and evaluation,
- Research, consultancy and extension,
- Infrastructure and learning resources,
- Student support and progression,
- Governance and leadership, and
- Innovative practices.
