TEACH SOME BEST PRACTICES FOR QUALITY ENHANCEMENT IN HIGHER EDUCATION (Pages 01-09) by Dr. L. V. Padmarani Rao in THE ENGLISH RESEARCH EXPRESS / ISSN:2321-1164 (Online); 2347-2642 (Print)

Higher Education as tool of development and progress of individual and society is well recognised fact of modern economy of every country. In this post modern era where local, regional and national boundaries are diminishing, higher education has been emerging as an international service where quality and excellence are prime requisites. Sustenance and enhancement of quality has become the benchmark for any educational institution that desires to successfully realise its objectives and to provide satisfaction to its stake holders. University Grants Commission (UGC) was established in 1956 by Government of India for determination and maintenance of standard of the colleges and universities in the country. The educational policy of 1992 accentuated the need of performance appraisal of the universities and colleges and hence established an autonomous body called the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) in1994.The rules, regulations and memorandum of association were prepared by a specially constituted committee by considering the present method of quality assessment and control of universities and colleges in UK, USA, Canada and Australia. Any assessment and subsequent accreditation is made with reference to a set of parameters so that the standard of a college or a university can be compared with that of other similar colleges and universities of the country. According to the new methodology for assessment and accreditation of higher education Institutes prepared by NAAC, being effective from April,1st2007,the following seven assessment criteria with key aspects and assessment indicators are designed which could be used as guidelines to capture the micro-level quality pointers. The key –aspect-wise points yield criterion –wise-grades by making use of key –aspect-wise and criterion –wise weightages. This can lead to a more accurate measurement of the quality of an institution. The paper aims at introducing the seven parameters of quality in education, which the NAAC has adopted for the assessment of institutes of higher learning, and proposes various best practices in each of the parameters of quality. Key words: NAAC- The National Assessment and Accreditation Council, Higher Education, interactive instructional techniques, quality teaching, need based curriculum, student centered learning etc.