ROLE OF NAAC FOR QUALITY ASSURANCE IN TEACHER EDUCATION

Quality in higher education has become the prime agenda of countries worldwide. In the changing context marked by expansion of higher education and globalization of economic activities, education has become a national concern. The University Grants Commission (UGC), by virtue of the statutory powers conferred on it, is expected to develop effective mechanisms for quality control of institutions. Section 12 of the UGC Act of 1956 specifically requires UGC to be responsible for “the determination and maintenance of standards of teaching, examinations and research in universities”. Towards fulfilling this mandate, UGC has evolved various monitoring mechanisms for quality control. The term quality assurance usually gets associated with an external accreditation agency for identifying the level of quality of an institution, like the NAAC in India. National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), formed under the aegis of UGC has implemented new methodology of evaluation of educational institutions in India. The new dimensions of “Quality Measure” as proposed by the NAAC involve continuous process of assessment of HEIs. The outcome of the Assessment is the final Institutional grading conferred to the institutions. UGC and NAAC have played a vital role in streamlining the Quality HEIs. The process has changed the mind set of all stakeholders towards quality and its sustenance and has involved them to contribute for its achievement. They provide adequate guidelines for formulating quality assurance policies as well as for adopting systems and procedures within teacher education institutions for enhancing the quality of the processes involved in teacher development.