Polytechnic institutions in the country will soon be required to undergo mandatory accreditation

Updated on: Wednesday, November 07, 2012

If the HRD ministry has its way, polytechnic institutions in the country will soon be required to undergo mandatory accreditation and assessment by an industry-sponsored agency recognised by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). The state boards of technical education will be involved in such rating exercises.

As of now, the National Board of Accreditation assesses the courses offered by polytechnics, but the process is not mandatory. The rating from such assessment is given to individual courses and not to the institutions.

Textbooks for polytechnic subjects translated into vernacular languages, information and communication technology-enabled classrooms, mentoring of polytechnics by established colleges or universities, dual-track education involving mandatory apprenticeship with the industry and a shift from the examination-based assessment and evaluation system to the continuous competency-based assessment, are among the slew of reforms that the ministry plans to implement in the polytechnic sector.

Granting an equivalence of polytechnic studies to the bridge courses offered by industrial training institutes (ITIs) and linking soft loans to polytechnics with their rating are other suggested changes.

A note related to these reforms has been put on the agenda for the forthcoming meeting of the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) in New Delhi on November 8. The CABE, which is the highest decision-making body on education headed by the HRD minister, was earlier scheduled to meet on November 1. But the meeting had to be postponed by a week owing to the change of guard in the ministry.

The AICTE had earlier launched an elaborate consultation process involving the state boards of technical education, polytechnics and the industry to have a better understanding of the needs of the polytechnic sector and to reorient the sector in line with the changing environment and industry requirement. A major thrust of the reforms - a result of this exercise - is on four key areas, namely content and curriculum, faculty development and enrichment, assessment and certification methods, and regulatory measures and institution incentives.

The note on reforms has proposed that a national level implementation committee be set up under the HRD ministry, with representation from the AICTE, the National Skill Development Council, state secretaries concerned and the state boards of technical education.

"Mandatory assessment and accreditation of polytechnics is fine, but the welfare of teaching and non-teaching staff at these institutions also needs to be focused on during such a rating exercise," said Shridhar Vaidya, secretary of the Teachers Association for Non-Aided Polytechnics.

"None of the prevailing initiatives related to the monitoring of standards, assessment and accreditation take into account the working conditions of the polytechnic staff," he said. "Issues like permanent appointments for teachers, suitable pay scales and time-bound career advancement avenues need to be looked into, as these eventually impact the quality of teaching in polytechnics," he added.

Vaidya said, "A major thrust of rating exercises remains on physical infrastructure like buildings, classrooms, equipment, laboratories etc. Institutions that have integrated or large campuses housing multiple institutions often find it convenient to secure better ratings by way of a misleading representation of their infrastructure and facilities to the visiting inspection team. Lacunae like these need to be looked into during the formulation of mandatory accreditation and assessment norms for polytechnics."

Meanwhile, referring to reforms in content and curriculum, the CABE note pointed out that students who opt for polytechnics are generally those who have been unable to obtain admission to science courses at Std XI. Such students are also less comfortable with English, whereas the course curriculum and text books in polytechnics are in English. This puts students at a disadvantage at the entry level and is one of the reasons for low passing percentage.

To address this situation, a recommendation has been made for the AICTE to commission text books in vernacular languages and to design preparatory courses in English, physics and mathematics for students who are weak in these subjects.

The state boards of technical education have been urged to approach the National Mission for Education through ICT

for support in development of content for the preparatory courses, which can be delivered through connectivity to be provided to all polytechnics. The note further recommends steps by the state governments to ensure that all polytechnics align their courses and curriculum with the national vocational education qualification framework notified recently. This framework provides for national occupational standards for various levels of skill-based education and the same are to be specified by the Sector Skills Councils for specific industry sectors.

On faculty development and enrichment, the CABE note has recommended a two-way exchange wherein industry personnel can be seconded to polytechnics as visiting faculty and the faculty from polytechnics can have short-duration orientation programmes in the industry.

The note has further recommended replacement of the examination-based assessment and evaluation system with continuous competency-based assessment. "A total range of written, oral and practical examinations, projects and portfolios must be used to evaluate the student's progress in the course unit or module," the note stated. The National Skill Development Council and the Sector Skills Councils will develop the criteria for assessment based on knowledge and skill levels for technical competencies at each level of the qualifications provided by national vocational education qualification framework, the note said.

Polytechnic institutions in the country will soon be required to undergo mandatory accreditation

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