VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh State Council of Higher Education (APSCHE) will organise a workshop on ‘Quality assurance and role of IQAC in promoting quality and preparation for NAAC accreditation’ at Acharya Nagarjuna University (ANU) in Guntur on Thursday.
Disclosing the details to the media at Tadepalli on Wednesday, APSCHE Vice-Chairman K Rama Mohana Rao said out of the 2,443 affiliated colleges in the State, only 254 colleges -- a meagre 10.5 per cent, have got NAAC accreditation. Out of the 15 universities in the State, nine got NAAC accreditation. Four universities got ‘A’ and A+ grading and others were graded B and B+. “We are planning to get NAAC accreditation for all universities and colleges in the State within five years,” he said.
Rao said the quality of higher education is one of the key concerns. The workshop aims at enlightening the colleges and universities on the importance of getting NAAC accreditation so as to receive funding from Central agencies such as Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA), which has sanctioned Rs 850 crore in two phases so far for improving the infrastructure of higher educational institutions in the State. Dr BR Ambedkar University in Srikakulam and Vikrama Simhapuri University in Nellore have secured UGC 12 (B) Grade recently. Krishna University in Machilipatnam is set to get a grade from NAAC soon.
The APSCHE Vice-Chairman said Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University Kakinada organised a similar workshop for all its affiliated colleges in November last year. The APSCHE, in association with ANU, is organising the workshop. An interactive session on ‘Higher education quality, skills and opportunities’ will be organised at AC College in Guntur as part of the workshop. APSCHE Chairman K Hemachandra Reddy will participate in the interactive session as a chief guest, he added.