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National Workshop on

Quality Assurance and Accreditation

On 12 – 13th May, 2013

Presented by:

Dr. S. Dasgupta

Director of Technical Education, West Bengal &

State Project Advisor, SPFU-WB

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Present Direction of Higher & Technical Education in

West Bengal

Expansion, Equity & Excellence are the vision of the State besides ensuring

quality education.

The higher education sector in West Bengal is currently in a significant

expansion mode (42 new Degree Colleges and 2 new Govt. Engineering

Colleges are underway, most of them are funded by the State, 3 new State-

Aided Universities have been set up in the last 6 months and the State’s first few

Private Universities are expected to commence operations shortly).

The equity plank is also being emphasized. The Legislative Assembly has

recently passed the OBC Reservation Bill mandating reservation of 17% seats in

all State Aided higher educational institutions to OBC’s; several colleges for girls

besides eastern India’s first Women University are being set up.

As for excellence, the West bengal State Higher Education Council has recently

been appointed by the National Board of Accreditation as its Nodal Centre for

West Bengal, Bihar and the North east for mandatory accreditations of Higher

Education institutes starting from those imparting professional courses.

World Bank funded TEQIP Phase I & II are implemented in the State of West

Bengal successfully where accreditation of courses has been considered as one

of the important Key Performance Indicator.

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A brief Profile of Technical Education in the State West Bengal for the

academic Year 2012 – 13

Type of Institutions Number Approved Intake

A. Degree Level Engineering Institutions

– Govt. Engg. & Tech. Colleges 06

34,305

– University / University Departments 06

– Self Financing Engg. Colleges 70

– Self Financing Pharmacy Colleges 10

TOTAL 92

B. Management (MBA) Colleges

– University / University Departments 08

4,890 – Standalone MBA Colleges 20

– Engg Colleges with Management Deptt. 28

TOTAL 56

C. MCA Colleges

– University / University Departments 06

2,429 – Standalone MCA Colleges 04

– Engg. Colleges with MCA Deptt. 29

TOTAL 39

D. Hotel management & Catering Technology (HMCT) 04 345

* All institutions have AICTE approval and WBUT affiliation

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Status of PG Courses in Engineering & Technology

offered in Institutions in the State of West Bengal

(2012 – 13)

Sl.

No.

Type of Engineering

Institutions

No. of institutions

offering PG courses

No. of PG courses

1. University & University

Department

06 73

2. Govt. Engineering & Technology

College

05

(out of 6)

11

3. Self Financing Engineering &

Technology College

29

(out of 70)

87

4. Self Financing Pharmaceutical

Engineering & Technology

College

07

(out of 10)

22

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WBSCHE as the Nodal Centre for NBA

West Bengal State Council of Higher Education (WBSCHE), established in 1994

has taken plenty of new initiatives in order to enhance the quality of higher

Education in West Bengal, introduction of Academic Auditing in Universities,

planning for common entrance test for admission in Post graduate courses in

Universities, formation of expert Committees for various academic activities,

helping the government with the setting up of new Universities, drafting Private

University Bill, Advising the amendment of West Bengal University Acts,

Presidency University Act, etc.

Decision of the National Board of Accreditation (NBA) for choosing WBSCHE as

its Nodal Centre in West Bengal, Bihar, all North East States in recognition of the

outstanding performance of WBSCHE is welcome. Perhaps, WBSCHE is the

only State Council in the country to receive such responsibility. All other nodal

Centres are located in a technical institution. We understand a MoU is going to

be signed between NBA and WBSCHE shortly to promote the quality of

Technical Education. The draft MOU has already been signed. We believe, the

joint venture will not only improve the quality of technical education of the State

but also will generate fund and academic resources of the State Government.

Contd..

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WBSCHE along with NBA is expected to go a long way in promoting technical

education and contributing effectively in improving the quality of Higher

Education in Engineering & Technology Sector.

NBA along with WBSCHE has already held a joint Workshop in Kolkata during

22–23rd March 2013. Academicians, Engineers and educationists attended in

large number.

The State Govt. expects the WBSCHE to function as the Nodal Centre for

Accreditation of Engineering & Technical institutes in West Bengal, Bihar and all

North East States under the National Policy guidelines of NBA.

WBSCHE as the Nodal Centre for NBA

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Rastriya Uchchatara Siksha Abhiyan (RUSA) – Participation of the

state of West Bengal

To achieve the national target of 30% GER (it is currently 18.8 for the country

and 12.6 for West Bengal) by 2020, huge investments are required in the

Country’s higher education sector.

The Central Government is coming out with Rashtriya Uchchatara Shiksha

Abhiyan (RUSA) as a Centrally sponsored scheme in mission mode that will

spread over XIIth and XIIIth plan period. The Central funding will be linked to

academic and governance reforms. The Govt. of West Bengal has already

conveyed its willingness to participate in RUSA.

The State’s Higher Education Council will be actively involved in receiving

Central and State Grant under RUSA and will transfer the funds electronically

to Higher Education institutions to implement the institutional Action Plan.

This will be an enormous task of WBSCHE to execute the scheme which

necessarily calls for scaling up of the overall strength of the council.

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World Bank assisted Technical Education Quality Improvement Program, Phase – I

(2004-2009) was successfully implemented in the State of West Bengal. 11 institutions

participated in the project. Govt. funded institutions received fund as grant but the

Private self financing institutions received fund as loan with a condition to refund with

interest beyond the moratorium period.

Each participating institution implemented a set of reforms that promoted significant /

substantial academic autonomy. Further, TEQIP invested in faculty development,

encouraged participation in national and international conferences and it financed

necessary purchase of modern labs and research instruments. Joint activities towards

Tribal development plan, Services to society and economy through networking was

successful. Life Time Allocation for each institution was released at the

commencement of project.

West Bengal was considered as one of the best performing State in Phase – I.

Centrally sponsored, World Bank assisted Technical Education Quality Improvement

Program, Phase – II, jointly funded by the Central and State Govt. on 75 : 25 basis,

has been in operation since 2010 -11 in 13 selected engineering institutes of this State

under sub component 1.1 & 1.2 with a view to upgrade quality of technical education

for enhancement of learning outcome, employability of engineering graduates, Post

graduate education, R & D and innovation in Higher Education. Funds are being

released in phases based on performance during execution.

Implementation of Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme

(TEQIP) in West Bengal

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Name of the institutes participating under various

categories in TEQIP, Phase - II

Project Component Category of College Name of the College

1st Cycle Institution

under Sub Comp 1.2

Government Funded

• Faculty of Engg & Tech.-Jadavpur University

• Bengal Engg & Science University

• University College of Tech. Calcutta University

Private Unaided • JIS College of Engineering

1st Cycle Institution

under Sub Comp 1.1

Government Funded • West Bengal University of Technology

• University Instt. of Tech. Burdwan University

Government Aided

• RCC Institute of Information Technology

• Bankura Unnayani Instt. of Engineering

• Birbhum Instt. of Engg. & Technology

• College of Engg & Management Kolaghat

Private Unaided

• MCKV Institute of Engineering

• Narula Institute of Technology

• Heritage Institute of Technology

2nd Cycle Institution

under Sub Com 1.1 Government Aided

• Govt. College of Engg. & Textile Tech. Berhampur

• Murshidabad College of Engg. & Technology

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Institutes

(1)

Total number of Programs

being offered with number

of Eligible Programs given

within Bracket

(2)

Total number of

Programs Applied

for Accreditation

out of (1)

(3)

Total number of

Programs Received

Accreditation out of

(1) with date of effect

Remarks

UG PG UG PG UG PG

University College of

Technology, Calcutta

University 09 08 - - - - NAAC accredited

Faculty of Engg. &

Technology, Jadavpur

University 20 32 - - - - NAAC accredited

Bengal Engg. & Science

University 08 (08) 09 (07) - - 08 05

Valid for 3 years with

effect from April’12

West Bengal University of

Technology 02 (02) 07 (05) 01 03 - - -

University Institute of

Technology, Burdwan

University 06 (04) 02(0) - - - -

Validity of 2 UG

Course expired

JIS College of Engineering,

Kalyani 08 (06) 08 (04) 02 02 04 02 100%

Accreditation Status of the participating institutes under TEQIP – II

(as on 15th April, 2013)

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Institutes

(1)

Total number of Programs being

offered with number of Eligible

Programs given within Bracket

(2)

Total number of

Programs Applied for

Accreditation out of (1)

(3)

Total number of

Programs Received

Accreditation out of (1)

with date of effect

Remarks

UG PG UG PG UG PG

College of Engg. &

Management, Kolaghat 06 (05) - 05 - - - -

RCC Institute of Information

Technology 05 (03) 03(0) - - - -

Applied for 2 and

withdrawn

Bankura Unnayani Institute of

Engg. 05 (05) - - - - - -

Birbhum Institute of Engg. &

Technology 06 (06) - 03 - - - -

Heritage Institute of

Technology 09 (06) 05 (02) - - - -

4 UG programs

accredited w.e.f

10.02.2009 for 3 years

MCKV Institute of Engg. 06 (04) 04 (01) 04 - - - -

Narula Institute of Technology 06 (04) 03 (01) 04 - - - -

Accreditation Status of the participating institutes under TEQIP – II

(as on 15th April, 2013)

A few other institutions outside TEQIP also have NBA accreditation.

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A few suggestions to improve status of NBA Accreditation

Gap between expiry of the validity of existing accreditation and awarding fresh

accreditation is sometime very high due to lengthy procedure.

Even after submission of Application, sometimes it takes a long time to give the

date of visiting and finally the accreditation.

NAAC accredited Universities are often reluctant to apply for NBA accreditation.

Online NBA procedure still suffers from teething troubles, like getting

appropriate password by the authorized functionaries.

Lack of awareness about the benefit of accredited institutes plays a negative

role.

Centralized procedure of NBA accreditation often takes longer time. Regional

centre / State centers may be an effective solution.

Existing charges for new / repeat NBA accreditation often plays a deterrent role.

Linking of obtaining NBA accreditation of eligible programs with according

approval of new courses may yield encouraging results.

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THANK YOU