Functional Utility of Internal Quality Assurance Cells in NAAC Accredited Colleges A Critical Analysis

It is a fact that development of higher education and development of a country are closely related. Any country that is developed today in the world is mainly for its quality higher education. Therefore quality assurance in higher education has been one of the major challenges in the development agenda not only in India but also all over the world. In this context IQACs of NAAC accredited colleges are functioning for sustenance and enhancement of internal quality of the higher education institutions. In Odisha only 192 colleges out of 520 UGC affiliated colleges have valid NAAC accreditation status. Therefore it is significant to study the functional utility of IQACs as perceived by members of IQACs taking into consideration the nature of institution as an associated factor. The exploratory survey method was adopted in the present study to find out the usefulness of IQACs in quality improvement practices. The sample of the study comprised of 12 colleges out of which 6 were autonomous colleges and 6 were non autonomous colleges, 6 were rural colleges and 6 were urban colleges, 6 were government colleges and 6 were non government aided colleges included purposively in the sample of the study. The sample respondents covered 72 members i. e. six from each sample institution. On the basis of pilot study a perception scale was developed to study the perceived utility of IQACs. Data was collected from the sample respondents through perception scale. Collected data was analysed by percentage analysis and chi square test of independence. The study revealed that there is no significant association between nature of institution and the perceived functional utility of IQACs as perceived by its members. In the process of monitoring and sustenance of quality practices in higher education IQACs are mostly useful. So in the present scenario, where it witnesses rapid expansion of higher education institutions in the country, the prevailed deficits and disorders need to be addressed properly through the mechanism like Internal Quality Assurance Cell with letter and spirit. Dr. Susanta Kumar Giri "Functional Utility of Internal Quality Assurance Cells in NAAC Accredited Colleges: A Critical Analysis" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-5 | Issue-5 , August 2021, URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd45005.pdf Paper URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/humanities-and-the-arts/education/45005/functional-utility-of-internal-quality-assurance-cells-in-naac-accredited-colleges-a-critical-analysis/dr-susanta-kumar-giri