National Workshop on Quality Assurance and Accreditation

Transcription

1 National Workshop on Quality Assurance and Accreditation On 12 13th May, 2013 Presented by: Dr. S. Dasgupta Director of Technical Education, West Bengal & State Project Advisor, SPFU-WB 1

2 Present Direction of Higher & Technical Education in West Bengal Expansion, Equity & Excellence are the vision of the State besides ensuring quality education. The higher education sector in West Bengal is currently in a significant expansion mode (42 new Degree Colleges and 2 new Govt. Engineering Colleges are underway, most of them are funded by the State, 3 new State- Aided Universities have been set up in the last 6 months and the State s first few Private Universities are expected to commence operations shortly). The equity plank is also being emphasized. The Legislative Assembly has recently passed the OBC Reservation Bill mandating reservation of 17% seats in all State Aided higher educational institutions to OBC s; several colleges for girls besides eastern India s first Women University are being set up. As for excellence, the West bengal State Higher Education Council has recently been appointed by the National Board of Accreditation as its Nodal Centre for West Bengal, Bihar and the North east for mandatory accreditations of Higher Education institutes starting from those imparting professional courses. World Bank funded TEQIP Phase I & II are implemented in the State of West Bengal successfully where accreditation of courses has been considered as one of the important Key Performance Indicator. 2

3 A brief Profile of Technical Education in the State West Bengal for the academic Year Type of Institutions Number Approved Intake A. Degree Level Engineering Institutions Govt. Engg. & Tech. Colleges 06 University / University Departments 06 Self Financing Engg. Colleges 70 34,305 Self Financing Pharmacy Colleges 10 TOTAL 92 B. Management (MBA) Colleges University / University Departments 08 Standalone MBA Colleges 20 Engg Colleges with Management Deptt. 28 4,890 TOTAL 56 C. MCA Colleges University / University Departments 06 Standalone MCA Colleges 04 2,429 Engg. Colleges with MCA Deptt. 29 TOTAL 39 D. Hotel management & Catering Technology (HMCT) * All institutions have AICTE approval and WBUT affiliation 3

4 Status of PG Courses in Engineering & Technology offered in Institutions in the State of West Bengal ( ) Sl. No. Type of Engineering Institutions No. of institutions offering PG courses No. of PG courses 1. University & University Department Govt. Engineering & Technology College 3. Self Financing Engineering & Technology College 4. Self Financing Pharmaceutical Engineering & Technology College 05 (out of 6) 29 (out of 70) 07 (out of 10)

5 WBSCHE as the Nodal Centre for NBA West Bengal State Council of Higher Education (WBSCHE), established in 1994 has taken plenty of new initiatives in order to enhance the quality of higher Education in West Bengal, introduction of Academic Auditing in Universities, planning for common entrance test for admission in Post graduate courses in Universities, formation of expert Committees for various academic activities, helping the government with the setting up of new Universities, drafting Private University Bill, Advising the amendment of West Bengal University Acts, Presidency University Act, etc. Decision of the National Board of Accreditation (NBA) for choosing WBSCHE as its Nodal Centre in West Bengal, Bihar, all North East States in recognition of the outstanding performance of WBSCHE is welcome. Perhaps, WBSCHE is the only State Council in the country to receive such responsibility. All other nodal Centres are located in a technical institution. We understand a MoU is going to be signed between NBA and WBSCHE shortly to promote the quality of Technical Education. The draft MOU has already been signed. We believe, the joint venture will not only improve the quality of technical education of the State but also will generate fund and academic resources of the State Government. Contd.. 5

6 WBSCHE as the Nodal Centre for NBA WBSCHE along with NBA is expected to go a long way in promoting technical education and contributing effectively in improving the quality of Higher Education in Engineering & Technology Sector. NBA along with WBSCHE has already held a joint Workshop in Kolkata during rd March Academicians, Engineers and educationists attended in large number. The State Govt. expects the WBSCHE to function as the Nodal Centre for Accreditation of Engineering & Technical institutes in West Bengal, Bihar and all North East States under the National Policy guidelines of NBA. 6

7 Rastriya Uchchatara Siksha Abhiyan (RUSA) Participation of the state of West Bengal To achieve the national target of 30% GER (it is currently 18.8 for the country and 12.6 for West Bengal) by 2020, huge investments are required in the Country s higher education sector. The Central Government is coming out with Rashtriya Uchchatara Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) as a Centrally sponsored scheme in mission mode that will spread over XII th and XIII th plan period. The Central funding will be linked to academic and governance reforms. The Govt. of West Bengal has already conveyed its willingness to participate in RUSA. The State s Higher Education Council will be actively involved in receiving Central and State Grant under RUSA and will transfer the funds electronically to Higher Education institutions to implement the institutional Action Plan. This will be an enormous task of WBSCHE to execute the scheme which necessarily calls for scaling up of the overall strength of the council. 7

8 Implementation of Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme (TEQIP) in West Bengal World Bank assisted Technical Education Quality Improvement Program, Phase I ( ) was successfully implemented in the State of West Bengal. 11 institutions participated in the project. Govt. funded institutions received fund as grant but the Private self financing institutions received fund as loan with a condition to refund with interest beyond the moratorium period. Each participating institution implemented a set of reforms that promoted significant / substantial academic autonomy. Further, TEQIP invested in faculty development, encouraged participation in national and international conferences and it financed necessary purchase of modern labs and research instruments. Joint activities towards Tribal development plan, Services to society and economy through networking was successful. Life Time Allocation for each institution was released at the commencement of project. West Bengal was considered as one of the best performing State in Phase I. Centrally sponsored, World Bank assisted Technical Education Quality Improvement Program, Phase II, jointly funded by the Central and State Govt. on 75 : 25 basis, has been in operation since in 13 selected engineering institutes of this State under sub component 1.1 & 1.2 with a view to upgrade quality of technical education for enhancement of learning outcome, employability of engineering graduates, Post graduate education, R & D and innovation in Higher Education. Funds are being released in phases based on performance during execution. 8

9 Name of the institutes participating under various categories in TEQIP, Phase - II Project Component Category of College Name of the College 1 st Cycle Institution under Sub Comp 1.2 Faculty of Engg & Tech.-Jadavpur University Government Funded Bengal Engg & Science University University College of Tech. Calcutta University Private Unaided JIS College of Engineering 1 st Cycle Institution under Sub Comp nd Cycle Institution under Sub Com 1.1 Government Funded Government Aided Private Unaided Government Aided West Bengal University of Technology University Instt. of Tech. Burdwan University RCC Institute of Information Technology Bankura Unnayani Instt. of Engineering Birbhum Instt. of Engg. & Technology College of Engg & Management Kolaghat MCKV Institute of Engineering Narula Institute of Technology Heritage Institute of Technology Govt. College of Engg. & Textile Tech. Berhampur Murshidabad College of Engg. & Technology 9

10 Accreditation Status of the participating institutes under TEQIP II (as on 15 th April, 2013) Institutes University College of Technology, Calcutta University Faculty of Engg. & Technology, Jadavpur University Bengal Engg. & Science University West Bengal University of Technology University Institute of Technology, Burdwan University JIS College of Engineering, Kalyani (1) Total number of Programs being offered with number of Eligible Programs given within Bracket (2) Total number of Programs Applied for Accreditation out of (1) (3) Total number of Programs Received Accreditation out of (1) with date of effect UG PG UG PG UG PG Remarks NAAC accredited NAAC accredited 08 (08) 09 (07) Valid for 3 years with effect from April (02) 07 (05) (04) 02(0) Validity of 2 UG Course expired 08 (06) 08 (04) % 10

11 Accreditation Status of the participating institutes under TEQIP II (as on 15 th April, 2013) Institutes (1) Total number of Programs being offered with number of Eligible Programs given within Bracket (2) Total number of Programs Applied for Accreditation out of (1) (3) Total number of Programs Received Accreditation out of (1) with date of effect Remarks UG PG UG PG UG PG College of Engg. & Management, Kolaghat RCC Institute of Information Technology Bankura Unnayani Institute of Engg. Birbhum Institute of Engg. & Technology Heritage Institute of Technology 06 (05) (03) 03(0) Applied for 2 and withdrawn 05 (05) (06) (06) 05 (02) UG programs accredited w.e.f for 3 years MCKV Institute of Engg. 06 (04) 04 (01) Narula Institute of Technology 06 (04) 03 (01) A few other institutions outside TEQIP also have NBA accreditation. 11

12 A few suggestions to improve status of NBA Accreditation Gap between expiry of the validity of existing accreditation and awarding fresh accreditation is sometime very high due to lengthy procedure. Even after submission of Application, sometimes it takes a long time to give the date of visiting and finally the accreditation. NAAC accredited Universities are often reluctant to apply for NBA accreditation. Online NBA procedure still suffers from teething troubles, like getting appropriate password by the authorized functionaries. Lack of awareness about the benefit of accredited institutes plays a negative role. Centralized procedure of NBA accreditation often takes longer time. Regional centre / State centers may be an effective solution. Existing charges for new / repeat NBA accreditation often plays a deterrent role. Linking of obtaining NBA accreditation of eligible programs with according approval of new courses may yield encouraging results. 12

13 THANK YOU 13