National Policy on Education-2016 In the context of Higher education. Altaf Hussain Assistant Professor [Education] Govt. Degree College Rajouri. altafchowdhary1990@gmail.com

Issues Affecting Quality of Higher Education Limited Quality:- The number of institutions of high quality is limited. Even the top-most Indian institutions do not figure in the international rankings of universities in the world. The quality and standards of Indian higher education institutions are not to be upgraded systematically At present, there are wide variations in the quality of higher education institutions in India.

Currently there is no regular system of monitoring of educational outcomes. Poor infrastructure:- Many universities and colleges have poor infrastructure facilities and face shortage of qualified teachers. In general, around 40 percent of the teaching positions remain vacant in many institutions. lack of transparency and accountability in the system:- A fundamental weakness is the lack of transparency and accountability in the system, which is exacerbated by the strength of teacher unions, threat of strikes and the affiliations of student bodies with different political parties.

Unsatisfactory performance of various institutions:- There is a large network of research institutions providing courses of advanced learning and research but unfortunately performance of most of these institutions over the decades has been not seen to be satisfactory Institutions are teaching shops:-At the other end of the spectrum are large numbers of privately run ‘teaching shops’ and so-called non-profit institutions, which are generally ill-equipped, and operating with unqualified staff. Many of these private universities, colleges and institutes operate under political patronage and take advantage of a lax or corrupt regulatory environment to run courses and offer 'degrees' which are of little use in the employment market.

Unstructured recruitment process:- the recruitment process is not structured as to ensure the entry quality of teachers into the system. Vacant teaching positions:-A large number of teaching positions are lying vacant, especially in state universities and affiliated colleges. The process of recruitment also gets delayed due to litigation. However the alternative of recruiting ad-hoc and part-time faculty impacts adversely on the quality of teaching and research.

Selected FIDC:- During 2012-13, the UGC had established Faculty Induction Development Cells (FIDC) in select Universities. Quantity based Research:- Another dimension of the problem is that there is little research on teaching learning in higher education in India. Manipulation in appointment:- The present system of appointing Vice Chancellors/ Head of the institutions has often been manipulated to such an extent that it no longer results in the appointment of competent persons.

Ensuring Quality in Higher Education Raising of GER:- Policy interventions have generally tended to focus on the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in higher education, which is currently around 23% and sought to be increased, through the Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) to 30%. Assessing the quality parameters:- An effective system for assessing the quality of higher education institutions would need to distinguish between recognition, accreditation and evaluation of the institution under review.

In 2013, stemming from the recommendations of the National Knowledge Commission (2007-08) and the Yashpal Committee (2009) the UGC notified new regulations (the Mandatory Assessment and Accreditation of Higher Educational Institutions Regulations, 2012) making accreditation mandatory for all institutions of higher education other than those in the technical and medical streams. Without accreditation, no general-stream university or college was to be eligible for grants from the UGC.

Status of NAAC:- 164 universities recognized by the UGC, 140 have got themselves accredited by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), with only 32% percent being rated as A grade or above. Among the 4,870 colleges, 2,780 are accredited by the NAAC, with barely 9% making the A or above grade. Among the accredited institutions, 68% of the universities and 91% of the colleges are rated average or below average in terms of the quality parameters specified by the NAAC. Ranking:- Apart from accreditation, ranking of higher educational institutions is another useful indicator of institutional performance.

Recommendations of NPE- 2016 Appropriate measures for private teaching shops:- The proliferation of privately run ‘teaching shops’ and so- called non-profit institutions, ill-equipped and operating with unqualified staff, is a disturbing development and needs to be urgently addressed through appropriate measures Identification of faculty position :- A manpower- needs study must be undertaken every five years at the central and state levels to determine the need for faculty positions in institutions of higher education. Structured Based Selection:- Merit based appointments in higher education and structured based procedure should be followed for selection process.

There is a need to ensure that competent and motivated teachers enter the profession. Focus on permanent faculty:-The process of recruitment also gets delayed due to litigation. However the alternative of recruiting ad-hoc and part-time faculty impacts adversely on the quality of teaching and research. It has been found that wherever the states have invested in permanent, qualified faculty, the outcomes are far superior and a lesson has to be taken from the benefits of proper recruitment of faculty.

doctoral degree is not mandatory:-For most undergraduate programmes, it should not be necessary to insist upon for teachers to possess a doctoral degree. Instead, it should be mandatory for such teachers to attend appropriate training programmes in teaching and communication skills, and the use of ICT. Budgetary allocations should be increased and facilities for carrying out research should be improved in order to support good researchers. Policy-makers needs access to good research Transfer Policy:- To the extent possible, teachers should be recruited and attached to particular institutions, rather than be part of an organised service where they are subject to frequent transfers.

Accreditation should be made mandatory for all institutions of higher education, including technical education, medicine and agriculture, both in public and private sectors The Committee feels that no university should have more than 100 affiliated colleges, The Committee recommends a revamp of the higher education promotion policies, procedures, structures and institutions. Proper Management:- A new management paradigm should encourage quality by offering autonomy; should discourage poor managements with appropriate checks and controls, leading to closure where required.

100 new centres for excellence:- The Committee recommends that over the next decade at least 100 new centres for excellence in the field of higher education need to be established. Council for Excellence:- The Committee proposes the establishment of a Council for Excellence in Higher Education (CEHE) by the MHRD to create policies to foster the establishment of council for Excellence, both in the public and private sectors Replacement of API:- The API must be replaced by more scientific procedures of assessing the quality of contributions which need not necessarily be only publications and attendance in seminars.

Till such time as a new higher education act is enacted, the NBAA would continue to be designated the national authority for accreditation of institutions of higher learning. Uniformity in rating and ranking:- The need to take up the rating and ranking of all higher Education Institutes must be recognized and introduced uniformly. Revisited ranking after every three year:- All the existing institutions of higher learning need to be ranked over a given period and their ranking revisited every three years or so; all the information should be available to the general public.

Collaboration with high qualities foreign universities:- Encouragement should be given to ‘high quality’ foreign universities and educational institutions to collaborate with Indian partners, and establish an Indian presence. It is also recommended that the top 200 universities should be facilitated to have collaboration arrangements with Indian universities. The opportunity should be used to ‘globalize’ Indian higher education without compromising the basic needs of access, equity and quality for the Indian students.

Recognition of institutions in accordance with NLHE:- It is proposed that recognition of all new universities and colleges, strictly in accordance with standards set by National Law for Higher Education (NLHE), will be done by an autonomous statutory Council of Higher Education to be set up by each State Fellowship for weaker students:- A National Higher Education Fellowship Fund may be created, which will offer 10 lakh new fellowships annually for qualified students belonging to economically weaker sections to pursue higher study ODL/MOOCs should be raised:- The demand for ODL/MOOCs is bound to rise in future years, though which technologies will find favour from learners are still open issues; it is recommended that the developments in this field to be watched carefully

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