I t looks fairly lacklustre that an exercise which mandatorily should have been done in respect of all Government Degree Colleges, say 142 in the UT of Jammu and Kashmir, is now going to take place in respect of according gradation by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) on the basis of assessing certain vital parameters of their functioning in spreading quality education in the UT. It is to be believed that only 30 of them have so far been graded and for rest of these institutions, the process has just started. NAAC isan autonomous body purely based on the concept of professionalism laying stress on imparting quality education and accordingly assesses each institution of higher learning by giving suitable grades. Since it will be widely agreed that the New National Education Policy announced by the Government after nearly four decades envisions an innovative , reformist and student /scholar savvy approach and needs , therefore, effective implementation, educational institutions should accordingly be of well accepted standards. How can our education system not only properly survive but become competitive at international levels enjoins upon the management of such education institutions to have secured good score by the NAAC based on impeccable performance. The question as to why such a vital and basic ingredient of being assessed by the designated autonomous institution of the University Grants Commission , the NAAC , has not been taken as much seriously as it demanded by most of the Degree Colleges, is attributed to prioritising focus on raising of infrastructure than on getting accredited grade-wise. And by going what has been bagged by the 30 Colleges is that only three colleges have secured A Grade or very good category while the rest have got B and C Grades respectively or Good and just Satisfactory positions. The need to stimulate the academic environment , bring in quality teaching and promoting research and analytical works in accredited institutions are all being assessed by the NAAC and any institution preferring to go off their radar for the fear of being put in lower Grade was an admission that everything was not fine in terms of teaching with that institution . Not only is the quality of education assessed but such assessment generates an awareness of quality in education. In fact, gradation and awarding scores is imbedded in the entire education system in the sense judging the performance of examinee students is done only by awarding scores and grades to qualify for the next step up and likewise, the institutions too, especially imparting higher education, should be accordingly evaluated and grades accorded to them. Such exercise of accreditation by the NAAC makes the higher learning institutions know where they stood and which of the areas of weaknesses , they needed to bring in improvement . A review process on regular intervals keeps such institutions on positivity oriented tenterhooks to ensure they not only retained but improved upon the last assessment grade given by the NAAC to them. Changes and innovations coupled with professional merit and new methods of imparting education were the concomitants of a robust education system and must adopt them if we intend to stand at par with the best education standards and norms at international levels. Setting up targets and incessantly working towards achieving them is the cardinal principle of achieving goals and touching heights of success. Even domestically, such a touch stone of efficiency is being monitored by the students and their parents most of whom prefer , therefore, to divert to the private institutions . We hope the entire exercise in respect of accreditation by the NAAC of all Government Degree Colleges is completed by the end of this year as planned to see optimistically howmany were in the Grade
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