Special cell to monitor higher education

[sajiv]

Hyderabad: A quality assurance cell will be set up in the State to improve excellence in higher education. This is essential as the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) is not able to monitor the large number of institutions coming up in the State.

This was one of the important decisions taken at the Vice-Chancellors conference held here on Thursday. There will be no duplication as the quality assurance cell will be only an additional mechanism and complement the NAAC, said K.C. Reddy, chairman, A.P. State Council for Higher Education.

The decision follows the pointed remark earlier made by Governor N.D. Tiwari on quality in education during his address to the Vice-Chancellors. He urged the universities to respond to the challenge of building 'quality manpower' to meet the changing needs of the society and the global economy.

Fee reimbursement
While the State government was spending a whopping Rs.2,500 crore towards fee reimbursement and scholarships, it was its responsibility to ensure colleges in private sector imparted quality education. Next year the government would be supporting students' admission to the extent of 85 per cent. Therefore, it was important to ensure quality education, the conference felt.

It was also decided to constitute four working groups to standardise fee structure and work on designing of new courses. While there was a uniformity in fee structure of professional courses there was no procedure in respect of non professional courses, Prof. Reddy said.

The conference further resolved to constitute a high power committee to prepare a document on strategy and policy for higher education in the State. It will have eminent professors and national level experts.

The conference, which was attended by 25 Vice-Chancellors, discussed strategies for a balance growth of conventional and professional education in the State. Toning up of R&D activity in universities with focus on inclusive innovation, performance evaluation and accountability of stakeholders of higher education also figured at the conference.

While there was 90 per cent increase in admission in professional courses during 2008-09, there was a significant drop in conventional courses . "It is a disturbing trend", Prof. Reddy said and added that employability was an important factor.

'Motivate teachers'
In his address, Mr. Tiwari, who is also the Chancellor, wanted higher education to be made more flexible and holistic. Teachers should be motivated to exploit the strengths of information and communication technology (ICT) in classrooms. The Centre was shortly launching the National Mission on Education through ICT. Mr. Tiwari stressed the need for continuous evaluation of teacher performance.

The Governor referred to the progress made by Japan and Germany and said science and technology were indispensable to maintain the nation's economic edge. He asked universities to watch the higher education scene in other countries.