UGC chairman professor M Jagadesh Kumar on Wednesday said that binary accreditation would be implemented within the next four months. He emphasised that the accreditation process would be simple, objective, rational, and time-bound.
If the institution achieves a CGPA of more than 2.00, the outcome will be 'Accredited.' If the institution achieves a CGPA between 1.50 and 2.00, the outcome will be 'Provisionally Accredited.' If the institution achieves a CGPA of less than 1.50, the outcome will be 'Not Accredited,' as specified in the official release.
"To bring more reforms in the NAAC accreditation process, we formed a committee headed by K Radhakrishnan, and we submitted its report to the Ministry of Education. The Education Ministry gave its approval. After that, whatever reforms we wanted to introduce, we discussed them in the executive committee meeting and approved them. Now, in the new process, we will give binary accreditation (either accredited or not accredited). Many institutions will get an opportunity to come into the process of this Accreditation," the UGC chairman said.
"We want to bring more institutions into the accreditation process. In that way, universities will be able to identify their strengths and weaknesses and figure out how to improve. Apart from binary accreditation, we are introducing another accreditation, which is progressive from level 1 to level 4, leading to level 5, maturity-based accreditation," he added.
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Mr Kumar further said, "Those institutions that enter binary accreditation, after a few years, will be able to move to the second level of accreditation. This will be a simple, objective, rational, and time-bound process. There will be only an online visit instead of a physical one, and we will check all parameters and grant binary accreditation. We will design a process for granting levels 1 to 5 accreditation; in some cases, there may be a physical visit".
His statement comes four days after the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) decided that Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the country would now be classified as either "accredited" or "not accredited," replacing the previous accreditation system that assigned grades.
During the Saturday executive council meeting, the NAAC resolved to award additional levels ranging from one to five to accredited institutions, to encourage them to attain the highest possible level. Both the binary accreditation system (accredited or not accredited) and the maturity-based graded accreditation (levels 1 through 5) will come into effect in the next four months and by December, respectively, following these reforms.
"The binary accreditation is also in line with the best practices followed in many leading countries in the world," a senior official from the Education Ministry said.
Furthermore, the accreditation authority intends to use the Maturity-Based Graded Accreditation system (Level 1 to 5) to incentivise accredited institutions to enhance their standards, aiming for the highest level of 5, denoted as "Institutions of Global Excellence for Multi-Disciplinary Research and Education."
This level-grading approach aims to empower Indian institutions to significantly elevate their quality, positioning themselves among the global elite.
Maturity-Based Graded Accreditation (Level 1 to 5) aims to motivate accredited institutions to continually improve and reach global excellence. This leveled accreditation system is expected to facilitate a significant improvement in the quality of Indian institutions.
A committee established by the ministry has recommended transformative reforms to fortify the periodic approval, assessment, accreditation, and ranking of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs).
The National Education Policy 2020 set a target of a 50 per cent Gross Enrollment Ratio by 2035, leading to the formation of a committee headed by K Radhakrishnan, former chairman of ISRO, in November 2022. The committee, after public consultation, submitted its final report to the Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on January 16.
The binary accreditation system offers three statuses: Accredited (valid for two years), Provisionally Accredited (for one year), or Not Accredited.
If a Higher Education Institution (HEI) isn't accredited, they can reapply to NAAC after six months. Institutions provisionally accredited for a year can reapply for accreditation status upon addressing all recommendations in the report.
NAAC's eligibility criteria for Binary Accreditation states that Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) with a graduating student batch or four years of existence, whichever comes first, are eligible to apply. Transition institutions are also eligible to apply for Binary Accreditation.