Srinagar, June 08: A two-day ‘Assessors Orientation Programme’ organised by National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) and co-hosted by Directorate of Colleges, Higher Education Department, commenced at Government College for Women, M.A. Road, Srinagar on Thursday.
Principal Secretary, Higher Education Department, Shri Alok Kumar was the Chief Guest on the occasion[UM1] . The programme is being attended by Principals of various colleges from Kashmir as well as Jammu division. Members of the visiting NAAC expert team included Dr. G.P Upadhaya, Dr. Neelesh Pandey, Dr. S. Srikant Swamy, Dr. P. Siva Kumar and Mr. H.V. Chandrashekar.
In his presidential address, the Principal Secretary said the assessment and accreditation exercise conducted by NAAC ensures that the higher educational institutions comply with the standards of quality in terms of teaching-learning processes, research, infrastructure, and student services among other parameters.
He expressed hope that the orientation programme proves beneficial for all the stakeholders and helps in enhancing the quality of education.
On the occasion, the Principal Secretary launched and inaugurated several initiatives of the host college. He launched e-journal ‘Dossier of Muses’ (International Journal of Literacy Studies) and released the print edition of the college magazine ‘The Pamposh’.
On the sidelines of the event, Shri Alok Kumar also inaugurated the ‘Centre for Research & Innovation’ , a multi-disciplinary Science research laboratory. He inaugurated a multi-disciplinary research lab in Social Sciences, water management lab and Culture lab.
The Principal Secretary inaugurated an exhibition held under ‘Empowerment and Entrepreneurship Development Programme’ to showcase the skill and innovation efforts of college students.
Earlier in his special address, Cabinet Secretary, Govt. of Sikkim, Dr. G.P Upadhaya said one of the major concerns in the higher education sector has been the lack of requisite skill set among the educated youth which renders them unemployable. He said the National Education Policy (NEP-2020) aims to address this issue in a holistic manner.
Adviser NAAC, Dr. B S Ponmudiraj said NAAC has to consider multiple factors during the assessment and accreditation and referred to the challenges inherent in the exercise. He referred to the legal challenges handled by NAAC while stressing on the important role played by the assessors.
Referring to the significance of NAAC, Director Colleges, Prof. (Dr.) Yasmeen Ashai referred to the need for aligning the assessment and accreditation process with NEP-2020.
“NAAC is playing a crucial role in making quality the defining element of higher education in India. It has encouraged self-evaluation, accountability, autonomy and innovations in higher education,” she said.
In her welcome address, Principal of the host college, Prof. (Dr.) Ruhi Jan Kanth said, “NAAC has encouraged self-evaluation, accountability, autonomy and innovations in higher education.”
She also referred to the initiatives taken by the institution for creating a robust research and skill development ecosystem in line with NEP 2020.
Dr. Abina Habib moderated the proceedings of the session while Dr. Sameer Koul presented Vote of Thanks. Students of the Music department of the host institution presented college tarana.
