Prof. S.C. Sharma, Director, National Assessment and  Accreditation Council,

Dr. C. Ganesh, Vice-Chancellor-in-charge, University of Kerala,

Dr. M.S. Syam Sundar, Advisor, National Assessment and  Accreditation Council,

Dr. G. Srinivas, Joint Secretary and Head, UGC, Bangalore,

Dear Principals,

Teachers,

Sahodaree Sahodaranmare,

Ellaavarkkum Ente Namaskaaram.

I am very happy to inaugurate this State Level Workshop, which has been organized to guide our colleges on the process of accreditation which is aimed at ensuring quality in higher education.

Let me at the outset, compliment the University Grants Commission [UGC], the National Assessment and Accreditation Council [NAAC] and the University of Kerala for organizing this Workshop at a time when Quality has become the key word in every sphere of activity, especially in higher education.

As all of us know, the higher education scenario in India is under severe pressure to expand in such a way as to fulfill the aspirations of nearly 600 million people under the age of 25.  Factors like rapid urbanization, increase in the disposable income and the opening up of opportunities have underlined the need for expansion of educational avenues as well as for the enhancement of quality in higher education.

Today, India has a very dynamic and large higher education system with about 45,000 colleges and 800 universities. The phenomenal growth in the number of institutions has also made quality a matter of great concern. Historically, India can boast of a great educational tradition with institutions like Nalanda and Thakshashila which attracted scholars from the world over.  It also merits mention that this city of Thiruvananthapuram too, had such an institution, called Kanthalloor shala, ages ago. Today, though we have improved our Gross Enrollment Ratio through a horizontal expansion of institutions, our efforts to ensure quality that matches such a growth are still only halfway.  More importantly, the yardsticks of quality in education are being revisited in terms of innovation and the contribution to the knowledge based economy.

It is gratifying to note that Mandatory Accreditation has become a common goal of many of our institutions of Higher Education, thanks to the efforts of the University Grants Commission and the Ministry of Human Resources, Government of India which introduced the National Institutional Ranking Framework [NIRF] in which four of our varsities have figured.  In this matter, the hard work put in by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council deserves special mention. Ever since its inception in 1994 as an autonomous institution under University Grants Commission, NAAC has ensured accreditation of around 375 of our 800 odd Universities and around 8000 out of 45,000   colleges.  By supporting the formation and functioning of Internal Quality Assurance Cells (IQACs) in accredited institutions, it has established the importance of maintaining quality and ensuring accountability, autonomy and innovation.

We have also been witnessing the changes in accreditation, with the entry of National Board of Accreditation (NBA) to assess technical institutions. While NAAC assesses the entire institution, the NBA focuses on each academic programme. Some international bodies like Association to Advance Collegiate School of Business (AACSB) also have active their presence in the country. In short, the focus is shifting from running a good institution to conducting institutions of learning with highest standards in their chosen area. The social and market forces have also compelled our evaluating agencies to reshape their modes of assessment. I am glad to know that NAAC is now using tools based on Information and Communication Technology [ICT] to avoid any possible bias in judgment.

With such an efficient system in place, it is for the Colleges to enhance their credibility by securing due recognition in terms of quality. But, securing Accreditation is not the duty of the management alone; in fact, the entire academic and local communities must be sensitized to such a need. A couple of days ago, I was surprised to read in the newspapers that the NAAC Assessment work in an aided college in Thiruvananthapuram was suspended due to student unrest.  Is this the way to approach quality in education?

This approach must change, for several reasons. First of all, such levity does not suit the high standards of education, digital empowerment and the overall human development index that Kerala has achieved through years of hard work.  By not taking quality seriously, we are also ignoring the strides we have made by creating one of the best start-up ecosystems in the country.  Our colleges and universities must make the best use of such progress so that our campuses lead students from class rooms to work stations where they build India's future.

The need to change our attitude towards quality is stressed by our dismal share in the global applications being filed for Patents. India's share in the global research citations is lagging at 3.1 per cent. Kerala, which enjoys the best human development index could certainly lead India's efforts in filing patents and in ensuring better research output by strengthening the knowledge-base of faculty members, updating the syllabi and teaching methods and through academic autonomy and flexibility.  For this, every other matter has to be second to a quality consciousness. 

The need for improvement in quality should be triggered by the willingness to understand and accept our deficiencies, which the Assessment agency points out.  We also must learn from the reports about the questionable employability of our graduates and the scant representation of our students in national and globally acclaimed institutions.

The Principals should become the change leaders in their institutions and must convince the teachers on the need to use the right technology and to go beyond conventional textual knowledge to move towards capacity building and empowerment.  In return, our university and collegiate system must respect the academic autonomy and integrity of the teacher. Results will automatically follow.

I would also remind Principals to make sure that their campuses become models to society in environment friendly activities and in ensuring inclusive facilities that would help the differently abled and the trans-gender community. I hope all these are included among the yardsticks of assessment.

I am happy that the University of Kerala, which has established its stature by ensuring a laudable level of quality, is hosting this initiative of the UGC and NAAC to have all Higher Education institutions in the State, duly accredited.  Principals can certainly gain much knowledge from the Internal Quality Assurance Cell of this university.  The learned faculty of this University are here for you to have consultations. The UGC's proclaimed aim is to have all institutions accredited by 2022. We in Kerala, should achieve this target ahead of schedule, at least by 2020 itself.

I wish this workshop all success and would certainly look forward to see the outcomes.

I once again greet all the teachers and Principals who have assembled here. I also compliment the organizers for conducting this function in a befitting manner.

Ellavarkkum Ente Aashamsakal

Nanni

Jai Hind

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