KT Jaleel: New courses only in colleges with NAAC nod

Thiruvananthapuram: Higher Education Minister K.T. Jaleel has asked the vice-chancellors of the universities of the state not to sanction new courses in colleges which were reluctant to go for the accreditation of the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC).

The government will give special financial aid to colleges with over A+ accreditation, he told a meeting held with vice-chancellors here on Thursday. The meeting also decided to form a set-up on the lines of National Assessment and Accreditation Council to give accreditation to self-financing colleges in the state.

The universities should ensure that all government and aided colleges affiliated to the universities get National Assessment and Accreditation Council accreditation, he said.

A marginal increase in the number of seats for existing courses should also be given if the college have National Assessment and Accreditation Council accreditation. Encouraging projects should be given to colleges which have more than A+ accreditation in National Assessment and Accreditation Council, he said.

The meeting decided to conduct review meetings of universities once in three months to ensure efficiency. The first meeting will be held at MG University on January 4, 2019. When the rosters of candidates for PhD registration are prepared by the universities, adequate reservation should be ensured for scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and SEBC category students. The universities should ensure video conference facilities on their premises. 

They should aim at getting CGPA of 4.00 points which would ensure at least A+ grade for the colleges. They should recognise courses offered by other universities of the state and restructure the internal quality assurance cells to increase efficiency, he said. Higher education principal secretary Usha Titus and various vice-chancellors attended the meeting.