Colleges will have to up the ante for govt grants: Top official

Nagpur: Colleges which were given funds for existence will now have to ensure that quality is maintained for getting grant from the government for which multiple parameters have been put in place, said Meeta Rajivlochan, principal secretary and state project director of Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (Rusa), on Tuesday.
Quality control has been necessitated by the high standards set by National Assessment and Accreditation Council (Naac) after the government outlined changes in education field, Rajivlochan said in her inaugural address to the three-day workshop for faculty development being held on Nagpur University campus, off Amravati Road.

Vice-chancellor of Nagpur University SP Kane presided over the programme. Present at the meet were Rusa coordinator Manoj Rai and director of Internal Quality Assessment Cell (IQAC) Suresh Zade.

The government decisions are now dependent on the data officers of IQAC provide and not on its ‘intuition’ of determining the standard of colleges, Rajivlochan said.

Giving an example of Scotland, she suggested using three spheres — society, students and businessman — as a way to improve the education system. She urged the faculty to be pro-active and seek grants and funding available from the government themselves for a more effective result.

In his address, Kane stressed the importance of data collection and asked the faculty to take advantage of the report writing seminars as presentations are crucial while displaying gathered data. Talking about Naac gradation, he said, “We look at a college’s grade and judge the quality of it. Hence, having a good score is important.”

He criticized the system for putting more emphasis on development of food, shelter and travel when the education sector is degrading day by day. Kane promised to hold a weekly meeting with IQAC coordinators of colleges from January to gather data and be updated of the project.

The workshop was attended by faculties from 150 colleges of Nagpur University and Gondwana universities and holding an Naac affiliation certificate.

Various topics like different criteria of certification, role of IQAC, documentation and e-report preparation will be covered for enhancement of teacher’s knowledge during the workshop.