Govt colleges in rural areas low on several parameters, says NAAC report

Gurugram: According to a National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) report that analysed government colleges in rural areas across state and central universities,

Gurugram: According to a National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) report that analysed government colleges in rural areas across state and central universities, colleges scored poorly on parameters such as physical infrastructure, e-learning, and alumni engagement. In addition, a majority of the government colleges in rural areas assessed did not maintain adequate physical infrastructure or academic support facilities, the report says.

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The report is based on NAAC data from 27 state universities, five central universities, 142 post-graduate colleges, 135 undergraduate colleges and 30 autonomous colleges. It identifies the number of rural government colleges with a score of less than 2.0 in the cumulative grade point average (CGPA) and suggests an action plan that could be used to improve the performance of these colleges.

Going by the report, around 8% of the undergraduate colleges and 15% of postgraduate colleges scored less than 2.0 CGPA in the physical infrastructure category. Out of the colleges assessed, more than 98% of the undergraduate colleges and 84 % of postgraduate colleges scored less than 2.0 CGPA in terms of having a library as a learning resource. More than 47% of the undergraduate colleges and 50% of postgraduate colleges scored less than 2 CGPA in IT Infrastructure, while more than 24% of the undergraduate colleges and 26% of postgraduate colleges scored less than 2 CGPA in the maintenance of campus infrastructure.

The report was prepared in February this year. After the lockdown is over, it will be shared with the internal quality assurance cells of colleges through state governments for review of performance, following which the varsities are expected to take steps for improvement, said SC Sharma, director of NAAC.

The NAAC assesses and accredits higher education institutions (HEIs) in the country. In 2017, the NAAC had introduced the Revised Accreditation Framework that combines qualitative metrics (70%) and quantitative metrics (30%) as grading criteria.

Sharma said that there had been a shift from qualitative peer judgment to data-based quantitative indicator evaluation with increased objectivity and transparency in the past two-three years. He added that the report outlines the NAAC’s findings of the loopholes that plague government colleges in rural areas.

“The NAAC report is a diagnostic tool. For the first time, we have come up with recommendations for governmental colleges in rural areas. Multiple factors are associated with rural colleges not getting A+ or A++ ratings. It is possible that colleges are not well-trained in sharing the data they have with NAAC. We are conducting awareness programs through webinars and training them in information and communication technology (ICT),” said Sharma.

According to the report’s recommendation, the number of teachers using ICT for effective teaching needs to be increased. Other recommendations mentioned in the report seek the introduction of certificate and diploma programme in colleges, along with courses in gender, environment and sustainability.