Why in News?

• Vice President addressed the silver jubilee function of the NAAC.

National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC):

• The NAAC is an autonomous organisation that assesses and accredits institutions of higher education in India.
• It is funded by the University Grants Commission (UGC) and is an autonomous body under it.
• It was established in 1994 and is headquartered in Bengaluru.
• The mandate of the NAAC as reflected in its vision statement is in making quality assurance an integral part of the functioning of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs).
• The NAAC functions through its General Council (GC) and Executive Committee (EC) comprising educational administrators, policymakers and senior academicians from a cross-section of Indian higher education system.
• The Chairperson of the UGC is the President of the GC of the NAAC; the Chairperson of the EC is an eminent academician nominated by the President of GC (NAAC).
• The Director is the academic and administrative head of NAAC and is the member-secretary of both the GC and the EC.

Functions:

• Periodic assessment and accreditation of institutions of higher education.
• Stimulate the academic environment for the promotion of the quality of teaching-learning and research in higher education institutions.
• Encourage self-evaluation, accountability, autonomy and innovations in higher education.
• Undertake quality-related research studies, consultancy and training programmes.
• Collaborate with other stakeholders of higher education for quality evaluation, promotion and sustenance.
• HEIs with a record of at least two batches of students graduated, or been in existence for six years, whichever is earlier, are eligible to apply for the process of Assessment and Accreditation (A&A) of NAAC.
• The NAAC accreditation does not cover distance education units of HEIs and offshore campuses.
• It also does not accredit institutions providing technical education (that is covered by the National Board of Accreditation (NBA), an organization established by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).