New Delhi: In a government-driven attempt to speed up the process of accreditation, Multiple government and semi-government agencies will be allowed to accredit educational institutions in addition to the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) and National Board of Accreditation (NBA).

The Centre is set to notify the University Grants Commission (UGC) (Recognition and Monitoring of Assessment and Accreditation Agencies) Regulations, 2018 which will allow registration of assessment and accreditation agencies (AAAs) to accredit higher education institutes and programmes.

“Semi government agency” has been defined as an entity formed by a government agency with a majority stake in partnership with a private entity that has at least five years of experience in the accreditation process.

According to a senior Human Resource Development (HRD) ministry official who requested anonymity, these regulations will apply to all assessment and accreditation agencies AAAs that will be formed following the notification of the regulation as well as the NAAC and NBA.

Thus far, the NAAC has accredited close to 1,200 colleges and 59 universities, a small fraction of around 40,000 colleges and 1,200 universities that India has. Accreditation will help improve the academic and administrative standards followed by educational institutes, and lead to better monitoring of the quality of courses they offer students.

Accreditation will help improve the academic and administrative standards followed by educational institutes, and lead to better monitoring of the quality of courses they offer students. “To begin with three Indian Institutes of Technology -- Delhi, Kharagpur and Madras -- are coming together to form a section 8 company that will allow it to use the network that exists in the IITs to be able to reach out to faculty for carrying out accreditation.

The board of IIT-Delhi has approved the proposal and other two IITs are likely to approve it too. The company is likely to be operational by the end of the year,” said a second HRD ministry official. Section 8 company is one that is registered for charitable and not-for-profit purposes.