A Symbiotic Analysis of NAAC Accredited Higher Education Institutions

Abstract

The principal aim of Quality Assurance (QA) is Assessment and Accreditation (A&A). Based on the status of accreditation the stakeholders particularly the students take an informed decision about selection of programmes in a specific  Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), viz, a University or a College. This paper presents a symbiotic analysis of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) accredited by National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), India. A comparative study of the pre-revised methodology of A&A of NAAC with the Revised Accreditation Framework (RAF) of NAAC in relation to the number of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) is also done this paper. The paradigm shift in methodology of RAF and processes of A&A being more and more robust and benchmark oriented are brought out. Basic difference of definition of accreditation with reference to All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and NAAC are discussed. The new QA mechanism in the form of RAF, is more system generated scores with hardly any human intervention with almost 70% of scores and with nearly 30% scores given by the Peer Team (PT) during the Peer Team Visit (PTV) after validation of the claims of the HEIs based on pre-determined set of guidelines have considerably the reduced the element of subjectivity of the A&A processes. The grading patterns of NAAC over the period of time and spread of HEIs accredited geographically also being presented in this paper. State-wise and Region-wise accredited HEIs of NAAC with reference to cycles of accreditation is analyzed.