Today we see an enormous increase in the numbers of colleges, universities and students. Its result comes out due to the decline in the quality of higher education. Numbers of colleges, universities are increasing day by day but quality in higher education is deteriorating. Due to the long line of colleges and universities our system of higher education is facing the challenge of managing quality assurance. Therefore the quality of higher education has become a major concern of today. Quality and excellence are the watch-words in today’s liberated environment. Increasing cross-border education opportunities, technological development resulting in new modes of educational provisions and emergence of ‘knowledge society’ are other factors. India has also its Quality Assurance Agencies and organizations [4] that play a great role in higher education accreditation. These agencies/organizations aim at maintaining the quality and standard of higher education. They attempt to improve the quality of teaching and encourage initiating research activity, which gives a positive feedback to their teaching programs. UGC and AICTE Acts provide for the establishment of Accreditation bodies like NAAC and NBA respectively. NAAC does institutional assessment of generally the conventional universities while NBA undertakes assessment in professional institutions. UGC has been taking steps, through various schemes, to promote quality education having regard to the concern Access, Equity, Quality, Excellence, Relevance and Value Based Education. These five goals were the vision of Dr. Radhakrishnan who gave a new direction and life to society through his valuable vision on education.
- “to seek and cultivate new knowledge“, “to see truth” and “interpret old knowledge and beliefs in the light of new needs and discoveries”;
- to provide society the right kind of leadership in all walks of life;
- to provide society with competent men and women trained in agriculture, arts, medicine, science ,and technology, and various other professions, with a sense of social purpose;
- to strive to provide equality and social justice and to reduce social and cultural differences through diffusion of education ;and
- to foster in the teachers and students, and through them in society generally, the attitudes and value needed for developing the ‘good life ’in individuals and society.
- The University Grants Commission Act, 1956, empowers the UGC to take, “all such steps as it may think fit for promotion and co-ordination of university education and for determination and maintenance of standards in teaching, examination and research in the universities.”
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