THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Soon, academically-inclined industry and community leaders, non teaching staff, alumni and parents will have a major say in improving the overall quality of various institutions under the state higher education department.
The State Level Quality Assurance Cell (SLQAC) -Kerala under the higher education department has come up with a mechanism at the institution-level named ZEST (Zeal-pool for Excellence Synergy and Transformation) to generate fresh concepts and unfiltered ideas from various stakeholders for quality enhancement that may not emerge from a formal structure.
All institutions under the higher education department presently have robust Internal Quality Assurance Cells (IQACs). The proposed ZEST will be established across the state in a phased manner and will act as the first orbit of thoughts and vibrancy around the IQAC, which is the mandated nucleus of all the quality enhancement efforts.
According to MA Lal, Director of SLQAC-Kerala, ZEST will be a volunteer driven group, the structure of which will remain flexible and fluid, so that it retains its non-mandated and vibrant nature. The quality assurance collective of volunteers from various sectors will work to support the IQAC.The combined efforts of both IQAC and ZEST are expected to vastly improve the performance of higher educational institutions in accreditation mechanisms and ranking frameworks.
"While accreditation processes and ranking frameworks are crucial in this regard, their reliance mostly on mechanical parameters often overlooks the deeper, organic consciousness of quality that must evolve within every institution. ZEST aims to fill that gap by roping in the best minds that can give valuable domain-specific inputs for each institution," Lal said. According to him, the ZEST will be constituted both at the college and university levels by next month.
ZEST will provide a platform for non-mandated stakeholders to bring felt needs, innovative ideas, and suggestions for improvement to the IQAC. It will also render flexible, grassroots volunteer service for various quality related initiatives, supporting the IQAC workload. It will also serve as the institution's primary vehicle that ensures effectiveness and impact of its community linkage activities and aligning outreach with genuine social needs.
"ZEST members will act as SLQAC's on-the-ground research partners. They will be mobilised to gather vital intelligence through micro-surveys, data collection, and case studies from their institutions and communities, furnishing SLQAC with the evidence needed foreffective policy planning and training module design," Lal explained.
SLQAC-Kerala will establish a dedicated channel to garner and curate all the innovative ideas, suggestions, and, most importantly, the data and insights submitted by ZEST members from across the state. This collected input will be systematically analysed and assimilated by SLQAC. "It will serve as vital intelligence to mould policies and ensure that the state-level training programmes are dynamically responsive to the real, grassroots needs of the institutions," Lal said.
'Zest' for Quality Improvement
Key functions:
Utilise collective energy and reach of members to position institution as centre of quality academics
Generate innovative ideas, concepts and suggestions for improvement of institution's standards
Act as SLQAC's on-the-ground research partners, help in policy planning, training module design
Facilitate institution's community linkage activities, align outreach initiatives with genuine social needs
