A majority of the engineering colleges in Andhra Pradesh have been placed in the B and C grades based on the internal grading conducted by the Higher Education department.
The grading was done after assessing the quality of the institutions in terms of key performance indicators (KPIs) put in place by the department.
The colleges have been graded on the basis of admissions, accreditation parameters, results and industrial training & campus placements.
Of the 341 engineering colleges functioning in the State, 261 colleges furnished data relating to the KPIs to the department.
Of these, only 62 had been placed in the A grade while 104 colleges had been placed in the B grade and another 62 had been given C grade. In all, 33 colleges had been placed in the D grade in terms of their quality parameters.
The department had also graded the 143 degree colleges of which, less than 10 per cent (11) secured A grade, 42 were given B grade, 54 C grade and 36 put in the last category D grade. In respect of 81 polytechnic colleges, 10 each have been placed in C and D grades while 25 could secure A grade and another 36 were awarded the B grade. Of the 117 private aided degree colleges for which reports were available, eight had been given A grade, 33 B grade, 42 C and 34 D grades.
Objective
According to Higher Education Secretary Sumita Dawra, the details of grading of higher education institutions had been put in the public domain and the department had also shared institution wise information.
The objective of the exercise was to create a sense of competition among the higher education institutions to excel in quality of education services. The institution wise details of the KPIs were available in the knowledge mission websitewww.knowledgemission.ap. gov.inand the grading was also available on the Chief Minister’s dash board at the websitewww.core.ap.gov.in.
Review meet
The department had accordingly directed the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological Universities at Kakinada and Anantapur to organise meetings of the engineering colleges under their jurisdiction on a quarterly basis to review the performance indicators, collaboration with local industry for internship of students, research projects for training and other aspects.
