Preliminary steps to operationalise the proposed State Assessment and Accreditation Centre (SAAC) are under way with the Kerala State Higher Education Council (KSHEC) focussing on creating a digital platform for the purpose.
The council has roped in a Thiruvananthapuram-based start-up for creating the platform on the lines of the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC).
Timely boost
A recent order issued by the government, which empowered government departments, public sector undertakings, autonomous bodies and others to select start-ups (registered under the Kerala Startup Mission) for design, development and implementation of IT projects costing up to ₹1 crore, has come as a timely boost for the ongoing efforts. According to reliable sources, a company will be zeroed in within the next few days after obtaining the government’s consent.
The council has also commenced steps to obtain the approval of the University Grants Commission to launch SAAC.
State-specific criteria
While SAAC is largely modelled on NAAC, along with the norms laid down by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, it will also incorporate criteria pertaining to regional requirements.
The other core criteria will include curricular aspects such as a choice-based credit and semester system and outcome-based education, teacher quality, research and consultancy, infrastructure and learning resources, student monitoring and support, governance, and community engagement and extension. There will also be a set of optional criteria such as graduate employability skill and innovations.
The process
The process of assessment and accreditation will be undertaken in five stages, the first of which will be the submission of a self-study report by higher education institutions.
A SAAC peer team will then visit the institution. A final decision will be taken by the council of the basis of recommendations of the Academic Advisory Committee. It will be mandatory for each institution to obtain accreditation either after the passing out of two degree batches or six years, whichever is earlier.
Accreditation
Institutions which have completed six years or have witnessed the passing out of two degree batches (whichever is earlier) will be able to apply for accreditation within six months from the date of coming into force of the SAAC.
Like NAAC, SAAC will follow a similar institutional grading model, under which institutions will be awarded grades O (outstanding), A (very good), B (good), C (satisfactory) and D (not accredited).
Institutions which remain unaccredited after receiving D grade will be included in the capacity building programme of SAAC for one year. Institutions which manage to obtain the A or O grades will form part of the ‘benchmarking circle’ of SAAC.
