Different rating system for colleges, univs soon: NAAC

Speaking to representatives from universities and colleges from the city, Chauhan said that colleges are not the same as universities and one of the biggest changes that they will be facing is the modification in the template for assessment of colleges and the new templates could be seen from August 10 on the NAAC website.

Also, a major chunk of the information will be collected online. “With the technology available today, it is possible to see educational institutions’ output digitally. According to the new system, universities can submit their data online and this will only reduce human interference,” he said NAAC will trust the data given by the institutions and around 70 per cent of the assessment will be done on the digital medium.

However, there will be a third party that will do the verification. He also added that the universities applying for NAAC accreditation must have at least 30 per cent of the criteria mentioned by NAAC. Professor Chauhan said, “They will be judged based on certain criteria. I think 30 per cent is a reasonable cut-off, failing which colleges have to improve their standards. Factors such as faculty, student ratio and research will also be included here.” Explaining further on HRD minister’s Prakash Javadekar remark that soon teachers in colleges will no longer require mandatory research output for promotions, professor Chauhan explained, “College teachers should not be forced to do research. However, no one is stopping them from taking it up and this is only to improve quality.”