NAAC ACCREDITATION IN TEACHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS: AN ANALYTICAL STUDY

Transcription

1 Man In India, 96 (9) : Serials Publications NAAC ACCREDITATION IN TEACHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS: AN ANALYTICAL STUDY Shilpa Sharma 1 and Dr. Anoop Beri 2 Accreditation is that quality assurance process where academic programmes, student and staff related services offered by a higher education institution are being evaluated by an external body known as accreditation body or accreditation agency which determines whether the higher education institution meets applicable standards. If the institution meets applicable standards, accredited status is granted to the institution by the accreditation body or agency. Teacher Education Accreditation is mainly related with ensuring the quality of teachers trained from teacher education institutions and their appropriateness to serve the purpose expected from them. This paper reflects on the value of accreditation in enhancing level of teacher education & challenges of teacher education to be overcome in order to achieve the benefits of accreditation process to the institution in real sense. INTRODUCTION In our schools the most important educational resource is the quality of our teachers, greater consideration should be given to aspects that emphasize the quality. It consists of the ability of teacher education contributors to prepare students well to fulfill the aims of teaching. Accreditation process is a main tool for making certain the quality of preparation courses in the profession. Purpose of accreditation is to make aware the people that graduate from specific courses are qualified and capable. The main purpose of accreditation is to help in finding out how far an institution is performing for attaining quality and excellence. Quality Assurance Agencies in India In India there are two national level bodies of accreditation for assessment and accreditation of Indian higher education institutions. The National Board of Accreditation, India was in beginning set up by AICTE under section 10(u) of AICTE act, in the year NBA in its today s form came in being as a selfgoverned organisation from 7 th January 2010, with an aim of affirmation of importance and Quality of education, specifically of the programmes in technical as well as professional fields i.e., Engineering and Technology, Architecture, Pharmacy, Management & Hospitality, by the process of accreditation of different programs made available by technical institutions. As per suggestions of the POA (1992) which gave the principle for bringing in action of the NPE(1986), in 1994, 1 Ph.D Research Scholar, Department of Education, Lovely Professional University (India), shilpasharma1506@gmail.com 2 Associate Professor, Department of Education, Lovely Professional University (India), anoop.16085@lpu.co.in

2 3136 MAN IN INDIA the UGC set up the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) as an autonomous body to assess and accredit higher education institutions and its bodies, with its office at Bangalore. The NAAC with main aim of checking & considering quality in sciences, liberal arts, and various programmes (Gandhi, 2013). At all times, more so in the present knowledge era, quality education is an important tool for national development. The assessment and accreditation process is the instrument, today in use world-over, to assess quality of education and consider ways to make it better (Pillai, 2014).The dictionary meanings of accreditation are: official recognition; guarantee of quality and general acceptance. NAAC CONTEXT The National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) is an agency that assess and accredits higher education institutions in India. It is an autonomous organization financed by UGC of Government of India with its headquarters at Bangalore. NAAC came into being in 1994 as a result to suggestions of National Policy of Education (1986). This policy was to locate the matters of deterioration in quality of education, and the POA-1992 gave vital plans for the policies considering the formation of an independent organisation. NAAC was established with some set vision and mission. Vision and mission reflects the aim to be achieved through accreditation process. NAAC aims to make quality the part and parcel of higher education institutions which is reflected in this vision and mission. Lead by vision and attempting to achieve mission, the NAAC mainly a ssesses the quality of higher education institutions, through an accepted methodology. NAAC also aims to promote some core values among the higher education institutions of the country which directly or indirectly promotes excellence thereby contributing to national development. ACCREDITATION OF TEACHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS Accreditation in teacher education is mainly related with ensuring the quality of teachers trained from institutions and their appropriateness to serve the purpose expected. The policy of teacher education in India has modified by the years and stands on suggestions given in Committees/Commissions related to Education. National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) came into being under the NCTE Act, 1993 for attaining planning & harmonized growth of teacher education in the country, for conduction and upkeep of norms and standards in the teacher education in the country. TIE-UPS BETWEEN NAAC AND NCTE NAAC and NCTE agree to work in close cooperation, in pursuit of excellence in teacher education. For this both have signed MoU aimed at fostering quality

3 NAAC ACCREDITATION IN TEACHER EDUCATION assurance and quality sustenance in teacher education in the country. Assessment and accreditation process is a great help to institutions to find their strength, weakness, opportunity and threat analysis, and enabling courses much acceptable to students and their leading employers. The NCTE next objective is to use assessment and accreditation as a tool for setting & upkeep of norms and standards for teacher education programmes (Maheshwari- The MoU between NAAC and NCTE is signed on the 14 th of August 2014 for collaborating. NUMBER OF HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS IN INDIA TABLE 1 S.No. Type of Higher Education Institution Number of Higher Education Institutions 1. Central University State University State Private University Deemed to be University Institutions of National Importance Other Institutions of Higher Learning 6 Higher education area observed great rise in the no. of universities and colleges since Independence. This area boasts of 46 Central Universities of which 40 are under the control of MHRD and 6 are not financed by UGC as these are financed by Government of India. 336 State Universities, 225 State Private Universities, 127 Deemed to be Universities, 74 Institutions of National Importance and 6 other Institutions of higher learning set up under various state legislations. The number of colleges has also grown by 74 times with 500 in 1950 increasing to 37,204 as on 31 st March, STATUS OF ACCREDITATION OF UNIVERSITIES OFFERING TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAMS IN INDIA As per the table 2, there are 46 Central Universities, out of which 17 (36.9%) are NAAC accredited with valid accreditation period. Whereas there are 30 Central Universities offering teacher education programmes, out of which only 14 Central Universities (46.6%) are NAAC accredited with valid accreditation period. In all NAAC accredited Central Universities with valid accreditation period are only 36.9% and those offering teacher education programs with valid accreditation period are only 46.6%.

4 3138 MAN IN INDIA TABLE 2: NUMBER OF NAAC ACCREDITED CENTRAL UNIVERSITIES OFFERING TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAMS WITH VALID ACCREDITATION PERIOD S.No. States & U.T. Central NAAC Number of Number of Central Universities accredited Central Univ. Univ. offering offering Teacher Teacher Education Education programs and programs NAAC Accredited with Valid accreditation period 1 Andhra Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh Assam Bihar Chhatisgarh Delhi Goa Gujarat Haryana Himachal Pradesh Jammu & Kashmir Jharkhand Karnataka Kerala Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra Manipur Meghalaya Mizoram Nagaland Odisha Puducherry Punjab Rajasthan Sikkim Tamilnadu Telangana Tripura Uttar Pradesh Uttrakhand West Bengal Grand Total

5 NAAC ACCREDITATION IN TEACHER EDUCATION TABLE 3: NUMBER OF NAAC ACCREDITED STATE UNIVERSITIES OFFERING TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAMS WITH VALID ACCREDITATION PERIOD S.No. States & U.T. State NAAC Number of Number of State Univ. Universities Accredited State Univ. offering Teacher offering Education programs Teacher and NAAC Accredited Education with Valid programs accreditation period 1 Andhra Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh Assam Bihar Chhatisgarh Delhi Goa Gujarat Haryana Himachal Pradesh Jammu & Kashmir Jharkhand Karnataka Kerala Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra Manipur Meghalaya Mizoram Nagaland Odisha Puducherry Punjab Rajasthan Sikkim Tamilnadu Tripura Telangana Uttar Pradesh Uttrakhand West Bengal Grand Total

6 3140 MAN IN INDIA As per the table 3, there are 336 State Universities out of which 58 (17.26%) are NAAC accredited with valid accreditation period. Whereas there are 140 State Universities offering teacher education programmes out of which only 44 State Universities (31.4%) are NAAC accredited with valid accreditation period. In all NAAC accredited State Universities with valid accreditation period are only 17.26% and those offering teacher education programs with valid accreditation period are only 31.4%. Thus data shows that most of the State Universities still are not NAAC accredited or with expired accreditation period. This is to be taken on serious note at both state and centre level. TABLE 4: NUMBER OF NAAC ACCREDITED PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES OFFERING TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAMS WITH VALID ACCREDITATION PERIOD: S.No. States & U.T. Private NAAC Number of Number of Private Universities Accredited Private Univ. Univ. offering Teacher offering Education programs Teacher and NAAC Accredited Education with Valid programs accreditation period 1 Andhra Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh Assam Bihar Chhatisgarh Delhi Goa Gujarat Haryana Himachal Pradesh J & K Jharkhand Karnataka Kerala Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra Manipur Meghalaya Mizoram Nagaland Odisha Puducherry Punjab Rajasthan Sikkim Tamilnadu Tripura Telangana Uttar Pradesh Uttrakhand West Bengal Grand Total

7 NAAC ACCREDITATION IN TEACHER EDUCATION As per the table 4, there are 225 Private Universities, out of which 13 (5.7%) are NAAC accredited with valid accreditation period. Whereas there are 28 Private Universities offering teacher education programmes out of which only 6 Private Universities (21.4%) are NAAC accredited with valid accreditation period. Only 5.7% NAAC accredited Private Universities are with valid accreditation period and only 21.4% Private Universities offering teacher education programmes are TABLE 5: NUMBER OF NAAC ACCREDITED DEEMED UNIVERSITIES OFFERING TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAMS WITH VALID ACCREDITATION PERIOD S.No. States & U.T. Deemed NAAC Number of Number of Deemed Universities Accredited Deemed Univ. Univ. offering offering TEACHER TEACHER EDUCATION EDUCATION programs and NAAC programs Accredited with Valid accreditation period 1 Andhra Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh Assam Bihar Chhatisgarh Delhi Goa Gujarat Haryana Himachal Pradesh J & K Jharkhand Karnataka Kerala Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra Manipur Meghalaya Mizoram Nagaland Odisha Puducherry Punjab Rajasthan Sikkim Tamil Nadu Tripura Telangna Uttar Pradesh Uttrakhand West Bengal Grand Total

8 3142 MAN IN INDIA with valid accreditation period. Thus data shows that the number of NAAC accredited Private Universities with valid accreditation period as compared to total number of Private Universities is very less. All this clearly reveals that Private Universities are lagging behind Central and State Universities as far as NAAC accreditation is concerned. As per the table 5, there are 127 Deemed Universities, but only 82 (69.2%) are NAAC accredited with valid accreditation period. Whereas there are 28 Deemed Universities offering teacher education programmes, out of which only 21 Deemed Universities (75%) are NAAC accredited with valid accreditation period. In all NAAC accredited Deemed Universities with valid accreditation period are 69.2% and those offering teacher education programs with valid accreditation period are 75%. Thus percentage of Deemed Universities are more as far as NAAC accreditation with valid accreditation period is concerned. On the basis of above interpretation, it can be said that Deemed Universities though less in number but will be ranked as first in the line of Central, State and Private Universities as far as accredited universities with valid accreditation period is concerned. MAJOR CHALLENGES RELATED WITH QUALITY IN TEACHER EDUCATION Defining quality in Teacher Education is much more challenging. The quality of Teacher Education is to be defined as its needs in terms of excellence, value, enrichment and educational outcome. Awareness and commitment are the pre requisites for quality assurance. Thus the quality of teacher education very much depends on the quality of Teacher Educators. For this quality is to be checked and maintained. It is globally accepted that education is an efficient means for social restructuring and it reveals solutions to the problems that society is tackling with. The teachers play a main role in education of children; their own education becomes very important. For this National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) with NAAC has taken various measures as regards quality improvement in teacher education. Thus this initiative towards quality improvement in teacher education therefore has created necessary awareness among teachers about their new roles and responsibilities (Singh, 2014). Serious concern to upgrade quality of Teacher Education in India is visible at the policy level in the post independence period. Various commissions as well as committees formed by the Centre and the State Governments always emphasized the need for quality Teacher Education. Accreditation s important aim is to make definite that all students have capable, compassionate and well-educated teachers. There is a greater international interest in process for the assessment and accreditation of teacher education. (Sywelem, 2014). One of the major challenges in teacher education is that there is no awareness of concept of quality among the pupil-teachers and teacher educators in institutions

9 NAAC ACCREDITATION IN TEACHER EDUCATION of teacher education. In order to make quality a feature of Teacher Education first and foremost important thing is to spread awareness about quality among pupilteachers and teacher educators in teacher educational institutions. A survey was conducted to elicit the level of awareness of teacher educators towards National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC). The major findings revealed that the overall awareness level about NAAC assessment among the teacher educators was low. The teachers are the working core force in uplifting the quality of any institution. Hence it is mandatory that each and every teaching staff must have clear cut knowledge regarding NAAC activities. For this there is need to conduct various In-service programmes such as conference, workshops and seminars at national and international levels related to different types of educational quality assurance system (Anboucarassy & Soureche, 2013). Government is permitting the new institutions opening even if these institutions do not fulfil the prescribed standards. There is requirement for continuous checking of the need of trained teachers for each state and make suitable plans to balance these two. Most teacher education programmes are about similar yet their standard of quality differs across institutions and universities. Education of teachers not only help in modifying school education by making capable, dedicated and professionally certified teachers who can stand to the demand of the system, but also acts as a bridge between schooling and higher education. In few domains, the availability of teachers exceeds the need while in others there is acute deficiency. The role of teacher education as a mechanism of nation building is globally acclaimed. The education quality is a clear result and outcome of the quality of teachers and teacher education system (Kaur, 2013). Structuring Teacher Education on noted professional bases calls for main actions on structural changes, curricular changes and improving the status of Teacher Educators. There is a need to take action to further improve the profile of the faculty by in-depth academic and professional training. This emphasize on the long academic education in general discipline before entering into Teacher Education program. This professional course needs to be minutely reviewed regarding the professional requirements of student teachers. (Pandey, 2011). Teacher educators, as main stakeholders, playing significant duty in changing and improving teacher education programmes quality. Their judgment and consideration of change aim are very important for bringing into action of different measures for quality improvement. This research was mainly dealt on exploring the indicators of quality in teacher education programmes and lining these in the consideration of teacher educators perceptions working at public university of Pakistan. It was revealed that teacher education institutions faculty regard 17 indicators very important, twelve indicators few important and one indicator less important. Teachers professional development get top position whereas publication of self assessment reports was the lowest position indicator (Dilshad & Iqbal, 2010).

10 3144 MAN IN INDIA Teacher and their education are important concern for any nation. The education provides a new identity to the individual and the country as well. It is a famous saying that teacher is the nation builder. There is need to upgrade the quality of teacher education programme. Teacher education has not come up to the needed standards. Teachers are not able to think rationally, critically and solve the issues related to teaching methods, content, organisation etc. Teacher education programmes needs a thorough reform and reconstructing curriculum of teachereducation program to be revised according to the changing needs of the society (Jamwal, 2012). The quality of teachers reflects the education quality which decides the citizens quality and finally the nation s progress. To attain the result of increased quality at all education levels, various government organisations and agencies have been concentrating on quality assurance in teacher education. They gave requisite guidelines for framing quality assurance policies and accepting systems and processes within teacher education institutions for raising the standard of the procedures leading to development of teacher. They have the main aim of preparing teachers who are efficient in a cultural context (Sheikh & Jahan, 2013). Many Universities initiated B.Ed. correspondence course and gave admission to very large number of students with a short contact programme and they are bringing out a large number of students having little or no grasp over the subject of Teacher Education. Area of Teacher education seems to be the most worst affected area in relation to improvement in quality. Mushroom growth of B.Ed. colleges without satisfying the NCTE norms has very much deteriorated the quality. The study was conducted to study the responses of prospective teachers on existing B.Ed. Course. The results revealed the status of B.Ed. course being provided by Central University. 95% subjects revealed that their institution even do not have necessary infrastructural facilities. 90% of them revealed that none availability of requisite facilities for experimental work. Majority of them responded that there was dearth of conducive academic environment (Shukla, Singh & Tripathi). QUALITY IMPROVEMENT STRATEGIES TO BE ADOPTED TO OVERCOME CHALLENGES IN TEACHER EDUCATION Workshops, seminars and conferences should be organized from time to time to create awareness among members of teacher education institutions regarding quality assurance, quality maintenance and quality enhancement. There should be formulation of national professional standards for teacher education institutions. There should be development of an area of on-going professional development for teachers. Transformation should be made in pre-service teacher education curriculum as per the need of the hour.

11 NAAC ACCREDITATION IN TEACHER EDUCATION More and more books and stuff on teacher education should be updated in teacher education institutions from time to time. There should be development of learning communities and linkages among teachers all over the country. Positive development in Staff appraisal systems and use of peer observation should be made. Entrance requirement or admission basis are not the same in all states. This criterion should be uniform all over the country. The NCTE should strictly enforce standards of Teacher Education which will prevent marketisation of Teacher Education and stop the operating of all unrecognized institutions. Teacher education programmes should enable student teacher to work with current practices in the present system of education. There is a dire need of taking actions to further improve the profile of the faculty through in-depth academic and professional training. This focused on the long academic education in general discipline before entering into Teacher Education programme. This professional course needs to be minutely checked from time to time regarding the professional requirements of Student teachers. Teaching-learning process should be centered on B.Ed. students studying in B.Ed. colleges. Teaching aids should be used properly and effectively. Overcrowded classroom also affects the quality of teaching. Teaching-learning in B.Ed. colleges should be activity oriented. Number of teachers to teach should be according to the strength of students. More optional papers should be offered in the institution. A better well furnished and well equipped library should be provided. Thus these strategies should be adopted by various teacher education institutions so that the real purpose of NAAC accreditation i.e. of assuring, enhancing and maintaining quality should be achieved in the real sense. CONCLUSION This paper has discussed how accreditation has made an important place in higher education system to bring best in higher education. Quality assurance is most important area in the educational arena. For this reason accreditation process has come into the limelight. Accreditation has also brought excellence in teacher education. Teacher quality, teacher learning, and teacher improvement are emphasized through the accreditation thereby raising the quality of teacher education. Accreditation philosophy is related to excellent practices in education.

12 3146 MAN IN INDIA References Anboucarassy, B. & Soureche, R. (2013). Awareness of NAAC Assessment among teacher educators. International Journal of Innovative Research in Science and Engineering. ISSN (Online) Retrieved on January 12, Dey, N. (2011). Quality assurance and accreditation in higher education in India. Academic Research International, 1(1), 1-7. Retrieved on November 12, Dilshad, M. & Iqbal, H.M. (2010). Quality indicators in teacher education programmes. Pakistan Journal of Social Sciences, 30(2), Retrieved on January 12, 2016 Gandhi, M. M. (2013). Quality assurance and accreditation in higher educational institutions: Indian Initiatives in the global perspective. University News, 51(48), Imam, A. (2011). Quality and excellence in Teacher education: Issues and challenges in India. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, 1(7), Retrieved on January 14, 2016 Jamwal, B.S. (2012). Teacher Education: Issues and their remedies. International Journal of Educational Planning and Administration, 2(2), Retrieved on January 12, 2016 Kaur, S. (2013). Present scenario of teacher education in India. International Journal of Science and Research, 2(12), Retrieved on January 13, 2016 Kurhade, M.S. (2013). NAAC s Quality World. University News, 48(31), 1-4. Natrajan, R. (2000). The role of accreditation in promoting quality assurance of technical education. International Journal of Engineering Education, 16(02), Retrieved on November 10, 2014 Pandey, S. (2011). Professionalization of teacher education in India: A critique of teacher education curriculum reforms and its effectiveness. Retrieved on January 14, 2016 Pillai, K. N. M. & Srinivas, G. (2006). A study of the Post-Accreditation scenario in the North- Eastern region of India : a meta-evaluation of the National Assessment and Accreditation Council processes and procedures. Quality in Higher Education, 12(1), Pillai,L. &Manjunath, B.R. (2014). The Indian universities and the accredited question. University News, 52(03), Raval, M.R. (2014). Quality sustenance and enhancement in NAAC accredited institution. International Journal for Research in Education, 3(4). Retrieved on January 15, 2016 Sheikh, M.U.D. & Jahan, Q. (2013). Role of NAAC for quality expansion in teacher education. Research Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 4(3), Retrieved on January 16, 2016 Sinha, V. & Subramanian, K. S. (2013). Accreditation in India: Path of achieving educational excellence. Business Education and Accreditation, 5(2), Retrieved on January 16, 2016 Singh, G. (2014). Emerging trends and innovations in Teacher education. Indian Journal of Applied Research, 4(5), Sywelem, M. M. G. (2014). Accreditation Models in Teacher Education: The cases of United States, Australia and India. International Journal of Education and Research, 2(3), Retrieved on January 10, 2016 Trivedi, J. M. (2013). Higher education in India: An accessor s view, review and overview. University News, 51(48),

13 Websites NAAC ACCREDITATION IN TEACHER EDUCATION Universities%20as%20on% pdf Universities%20as%20on% pdf mhrd.gov.in/institutions-national-importance mhrd.gov.in library/teacher_education_ accreditation_-_a_review_of_national_and_international_trends_ and_practices.pdf? sfvrsn=8) Institutions with valid accreditation as on 19/02/ Teacher%20Education%20Programmes.pdf Teacher%20Education%20Programmes.pdf Teacher%20Education%20Programmes.pdf Teacher%20Education%20Programmes.pdf 20Singh%20&%20Rekha%20Tripathi.pdf Odisha-UGC/2015/07/20/article ece