A high-level panel has been set by the Ministry of Education to strengthen the assessment and accreditation of higher educational institutions, officials said on Friday. The panel will be headed by Dr K Radhakrishnan, Chairperson, Board of Governors, IIT Kanpur. He is also the chairperson of the Standing Committee of IIT Council. A senior official with the MoE said, "The mandate of the committee includes strengthening the assessment and accreditation processes and preparing a road map for the National Accreditation Council envisioned in the National Education Policy, 2020. India has one of the largest and diverse education systems in the world." "Accreditation plays a vital role in making quality assurance an integral part of the functioning of higher educational institutions. Accreditation assists the institutions to understand their strengths and weaknesses through an informed review process, thus facilitating identification of internal areas of planning and resource allocation by them," the official said. Other members of the committee include Mridul Hazarika, Vice-Chancellor, Mahapurusha Srimanta Sankaradeva Viswavidyalaya, Assam; Bharat Bhasker, Professor, IIM, Lucknow and Joint Secretary, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education. "Accreditation status of any higher educational institution serves as a source of reliable information for the students, employers and the society regarding the quality of education being offered in the institution," the official said.
