IITs want to be accredited by statutory body

As the government wants to make accreditation mandatory for all institutions, the IITs have said they would like to be accredited by a statutory body and not by the National Board of Accreditation (NBA).

The IIT directors have told the government that they have no objection to accreditation of the institutes, but insisted that the accreditation agency should be a statutory and autonomous organisation.

They expressed these views at the meeting of the IIT Council, the highest decision making body for the IITs, held here last month. HRD Minister Kapil Sibal, who is the chairman of the council, told them that the government would set up an accreditation agency by introducing a Bill in the Parliament soon.

"The directors said the accreditation should be conducted by a statutory body. The government has said the proposed accreditation agency would be a statutory body," a senior official of HRD Ministry said.

Meanwhile, the Ministry has drafted the Bill for creation of the national accreditation agency. Sibal has already said that the government would try to introduce the Bill in the coming session of Parliament, beginning next week.

The accreditation norms and standards will be laid down by the proposed National Commission for Higher Education and Research. The accreditation body will follow the norms and give registration to all types of institutions, including those offering medical education, HRD ministry sources said.

Institutions failing to get through the accreditation norms may be closed down or given certain amount of time to comply the requirements.

The IITs have also suggested that their assessment should be conducted by renowned experts. The IITs will suggest a panel of experts to the government which can nominate selected members from that list for the purpose of accreditation and assessment of the premier institutes.

At present, the National Board of Accreditation, an organisation under the All India Council of Technical Education -- the apex body to standardise technical education in the country -- evaluates the quality of programmes offered by engineering educational institutions from diploma to PG levels.