International Assessment Standards for Higher Education Institutions in India

Indian universities and institutes are in a dire need of regular check on the quality of education and academic standards. Hence, assessment and accreditation of higher education (HEIs) in India will be digitized. The assessment plan cum proposal has been submitted under the Atal Incubation Centre to NITI Aayog. It aims at moving the current manual assessment of institutions on quality of education to a digital assessment platform.

Various assessment agencies in the country including NAAC have their own frameworks, methodologies and standards of assessment, which does not clarify the overall scenario. Nowadays, credibility of education system is questioned, considering the poor education quality and lack of academic excellence, it is high time to get some international assessment models of institutions on board. A digital assessment model will help ensure scalability and help eradicate any corruption in the process.

Steps Taken

To make this process effective and quick the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) and 20 key quality  networks and agencies from Europe, America, UK, Australia, Africa, Asia and other countries have joined hands to develop a common agenda for international quality assurance of Indian Universities. 

Some of the agencies include Asia-Pacific Quality Network (APQN), ASEAN Quality Assurance Network (AQAN), Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA), European Consortium for Accreditation in Higher Education (ECA), Asia-Pacific Quality Register (APQR), Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education UK (QA-UK), Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) and many others.

These assessment agencies will share and promote effective practices that will help in providing Indian agencies the Next Generation Quality Assurance of Higher Education. This step of bringing in international methodologies of assessment and quality assurance will encourage better performance by the institutes and universities. Regular checks and digital database will keep these institutes and the management on their toes.