Bengaluru(Press Release): The National Education Policy, 2020 (NEP-2020), has proposed the National Accreditation Council (NAC) as a meta-accrediting body. The University Grants Commission (UGC) has already appointed a committee to bring synergy between NAAC, the National Board of Accreditation (NBA), and the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) to propose a common framework and a road map for NAC.
The NEP-2020 envisages a stage-wise mechanism for granting graded autonomy to colleges and in the long run, accreditation will become a binary process. Accreditation of institutions will be based primarily on basic norms, public self-disclosure, good governance, and outcomes, and it will be carried out by an independent ecosystem of accrediting institutions, supervised and overseen by NAC. The license to function as an accreditor shall also be awarded by NAC to an appropriate number of institutions. In the short term, a robust system of graded accreditation needs to be established with specific benchmarks for all HEIs to achieve set levels of quality, self-governance, and autonomy. This will lead to several reforms in the Assessment and Accreditation (A&A) system. The recently released NAAC White Paper has proposed a road map in this direction.
Dr Bhushan Patwardhan, Chairman of the Executive Committee, NAAC has stated that it is necessary to generate more awareness about the proposed reforms, to assert the importance of accreditation, and ensure improvement of educational quality. He has emphasized that more HEIs should be encouraged to come forward for accreditation. The NAAC has taken steps to increase the number of accredited HEIs. Dr S.C. Sharma, Director NAAC, stated, “Today on the day auspicious of Vijaya Dashami, theNAAC has decided to establish a Handholding and Mentoring Cell (HMC) to encourage more HEIs to come forward for the A&A process.”
The NAAC has already issued a cautionary note warning that some agencies or consultancy firms are approaching HEIs with proposals to help in getting them accreditation and simultaneously making various commitments and promises.
The Council has not authorized any agents or consultants for accreditation work. The NAAC expects that an institution must itself complete the preparation for accreditation and not try to outsource it. HEIs are advised to avoid entertaining such unauthorized agents. Dr Patwardhan has urgently appealed that HEIs should desist from associating with such dubiousagents/consultancy services. They should take advantage of the authentic services provided by the NAAC-HMC initiative.
NAAC-HMC is expected toguideHEIs across the geographical area,especially from underserved remote areas. Those HEIs completing at least two cycles of accreditation with consistently high grades (Mentor HEIs) may volunteer and participate in this initiative.Dr Sharma has appealed to and invited HEIs, especially non-accredited ones (Mentee HEIs) who need guidance and help, to register themselves by submitting an application in the prescribed format available on the NAAC website.
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Ex-Army officer assaulted, robbed at gunpoint by woman he met through matrimonial website
Mathura(UP), Apr 5 (PTI): A retired Army colonel from Haryana has filed a police complaint here, alleging that he was held hostage, assaulted, looted and forced to participate in an "obscene video" at gunpoint with a woman he met through a matrimonial website, police said on Saturday.
The woman from Mathura, who was allegedly in on the plan to rob him, was working with other accomplices, the ex-armyman said in his complaint filed on Thursday.
According to Barsana Station House Officer (SHO) Raj Kamal Singh, Colonel Rajneesh Soni (retired), a resident of Gurugram, reported that he was contacted by a woman from Barsana on a matrimonial website in January. The woman allegedly agreed to marry him, and they began communicating.
The woman allegedly persuaded the colonel to visit Barsana on January 25, requesting that he visit the Radharani temple. When he arrived, she arranged for his stay at a guest house and took him on a tour of the area, including a visit to the temple, the complainant said.
After returning to the guest house, the woman and her accomplices allegedly told the colonel that her brother had been involved in an accident and they needed to leave immediately. They then led him to a waiting car.
"Once outside the town limits, the colonel alleges that he was attacked by the occupants of the car. They seized his phone, physically assaulted him, and forced him to contact relatives and friends to transfer money," the SHO said.
"He was then taken back to the guest house, where he was allegedly forced to participate in obscene videos and photographs at gunpoint. He was threatened that the videos would be made public if he reported the incident," the officer said.
The colonel has alleged that his purse, bag, gold chain, debit card and Rs. 12,000 in cash were stolen from the guest house.
After an unsuccessful attempt at locating the perpetrators himself, the colonel finally reported the incident to the Barsana police two days ago, he said.
"A case has been registered under relevant sections of the BNS and all facts are being investigated. Further action will be taken as per facts found in the investigation," the SHO said.
