Challenges & Issues for 21st Century in Indian context to Accreditation & Quality Control: A Review

Abstract

In higher education, quality assurance (QA) and accreditation include strategic method and evaluation of procedures to evaluate the progress of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and to identify areas that need improvement and further advancement. In the era of international and globalization of higher education, it is difficult to claim credit transfer and student mobility, identify future requirements, or boost social productive capacity without ensuring the quality of higher education programs. In today’s fast changing and unpredictable world, Quality Assurance has become a significant component in Higher Education.  Even though a considerable number of studies have been conducted, there are many unanswered issues about how Quality Assurance (QA) & Accreditation improves the core processes involved in Higher Education.

This study provides a comprehensive review at what is meant by quality assurance in Education, a brief on the regulatory framework of India & challenges & issues of the current procedures of Accreditations. The emergence of transnational institutions, Liberal Education, Hybrid online learning, and use of Open Learning platforms and digital media for learning and teaching education pose major challenges to quality management agencies in (i)Alternative Services for Higher Education, (ii) Framework, Interpretations, and Indicators of Quality, and (iii) Community Transparency and Accountability.

 A most essential issue is whether quality control has enhanced performance - a critical issue for the twenty-first century.