THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The State Assessment and Accreditation Council (SAAC), a state-level body for assessment and rating of colleges, will be operational from this academic year, Kerala State Higher Education Council (KSHEC) vice-chairman Rajan Gurukkal has said. He was addressing media persons after a state-level meet comprising all the stakeholders of higher education here on Friday.
“The process of assessment will begin from this academic year. In the first phase, we will conduct awareness in colleges in the state on the importance of getting accreditation and to persuade them to ensure quality based on the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) norms,” Gurukkal said.
As per the decision taken by the council, the awareness classes for the colleges will be completed by July so the accreditation process could begin from August onwards. “The council decided to conduct awareness as many colleges need to be aware of the guidelines and norms for accreditation. So far, only 218 colleges have obtained accreditation in the state. This should change. So, we have come up with a state-level assessment system on the lines of NAAC,” said Rajan Varughese, member secretary, KSHEC.
The council members said only a few colleges in the state had already shown their willingness to apply for accreditation. According to Gurukkal, only Sree Sankara University, MG University and Kannur University have shown interest to become the outcome-based education model. The council also planned core values to include in the SAAC framework
Core values
Commitment to social inclusiveness
Striving for equity and excellence
Fostering scientific temper and secular outlook
Eligible for grants
Only SAAC-accredited institutions will be made eligible for applying for new courses as well as for availing grants and resources of the government. SAAC will operate under the KSHEC
integrated approach
SAAC proposes to adopt a multi-level, integrated approach in assessing institutions. Following this, an institution will be awarded three-fold points or grades. Institutions will be evaluated on a 300 point scale on the basis of core values, indicators and criteria