INTERVIEW S.C. SHARMA
Director, National Assessment and Accreditation Council
He has published 366 research papers and 18 books, holds six patents, and is honorary distinguished professor at IIT Guwahati’s Centre for Energy. Sharma spoke to THE WEEK about the steps taken by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) to improve the quality of assessment and the role of higher education institutions in today’s India. Edited excerpts:
Q/ Universities are gearing up for a post-Covid world, India is implementing the National Education Policy 2020. In this changing scenario, what are NAAC’s criteria for grading universities?
A/ NAAC is reckoned the world over as a quality assurance leader. [India has] one of the world’s largest higher education systems and it is also diverse and complex. There are different types of universities—central, state, deemed, private. It is a herculean task for anybody to manage the assessment and accreditation of such a system.
Over the years, NAAC has instilled the much-needed panacea—an infusion of quality consciousness among institutions of higher learning—and has thereby transformed the mindset of the academic fraternity. We introduced many new-age measures such as the Internal Quality Assurance Cell, Data Validation and Verification, and Student Satisfaction Survey. These have become popular with HEIs (higher education institutions) and is resonating in their efforts to achieve, sustain and enhance quality.
Q/ What impact did Covid-19 have on NAAC’s functioning?
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