IIT Foundation to accredit engineering colleges in country

New Delhi: Engineering colleges in the country will no longer be accredited by the National Board of Accreditation (NBA) and the role will be taken over by a new company -IIT Foundation for Accreditation and Assessment (IFAA).

The company established recently, having IIT Madras, IIT Delhi and IIT Kharagpur as founding partners, is now looking for a CEO. "The HRD Ministry had proposed formation of a Section-8 Company under Companies Act, 2013 for the purpose of undertaking accreditation, through participation of IITs and IIMs and a company by the name of IFAA has been established.

"The company incorporated will attempt to expedite the accreditation process, operating in a self-sustainable mode," a senior official, who is member of the IIT Council said. "The CEO appointed from amongst the serving or superannuated IIT Faculty, will be responsible for overall operation, academic, administrative and financial functions of the company, in developing an objective framework for assessment, which shall be efficient and transparent to undertake accreditation needs of colleges and universities offering engineering and science education," the official added.

The idea of making the IITs parallel assessors alongside the NBA and the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) by setting up accreditation centres in the prestigious institutions was mooted by former HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar.

Initially, several IIT directors loathed the idea, saying the proposed role would dilute the tech schools' core mandate of teaching and research in technical education but they agreed to provide "limited" assistance and expertise so that their core functions would remain unaffected.

Later, it was decided to set up a company which operates in a self-sustainable mode. "The company will also address and participate in any open call or invitation to extend its services to the University Grants Commission (UGC) or All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) for undertaking accreditation activities. The company will be free from any interference from the Ministry or IITS," the official said.