Shimla, August 21: The Himachal Pradesh government has launched a new, independent ranking system for state colleges, linking their performance directly to the allocation of additional grants. The initiative, separate from the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) accreditation, aims to evaluate and enhance educational quality in the state’s higher education institutions.
The Directorate of Higher Education has directed all college principals to undertake the ranking process, which will assess various aspects of institutional performance. With 134 degree colleges in the state educating around 1,15,000 students, the ranking system is expected to play a key role in ensuring that funds are distributed based on merit and performance.
The newly introduced ranking system will operate independently of the NAAC accreditation, instead focusing on a set of criteria tailored to the state’s specific educational needs. These criteria include academic outcomes, student enrollment numbers, publication of college magazines, organization of academic conferences, quality and availability of library facilities, and effective utilisation of the budget allocated by the state.
To ensure a complete and fair assessment, committees have been formed at the state, regional and cluster levels, following which the colleges will be inspected. The state-level committee, led by the Director of Higher Education, will oversee the entire process. The colleges will be awarded marks in several categories: 140 marks for teaching and learning, 280 marks for student support services, 160 marks for infrastructure, 220 marks for institutional management, 80 marks for best practice innovation and 100 marks for faculty profile research.
This ranking process will continue till December 31, with colleges having to self-assess based on the criteria mentioned. However, factors outside the control of college principals will not be factored into the final state rankings, to ensure that the assessment is fair and reflects the actual performance of the institutions.
Apart from this ranking initiative, a recent meeting chaired by the Education Secretary emphasized the importance of NAAC accreditation for maintaining national educational standards. However, the state’s new ranking system will provide a more localized and tailored assessment of each college’s performance, which will guide the distribution of state funds.
The state government plans to release funds to colleges based on their ranking results, with additional grants to be given to institutions that demonstrate excellence in various areas. This performance-based funding model is expected to lead to improvements in the state’s colleges, ultimately benefiting students and improving the overall educational landscape in Himachal Pradesh.
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