Social Scientist and active member who contributed for the Dr. BR Ambedkar Open University and IGNOU and currently the Director, NAAC, Bangalore, Prof. VS Prasad has put three remarkable questions before the seminar.

Earlier, he explained the gathering about the objectives of National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC). He said NAAC accreditates and assesses higher educational institutions based on a 7-point criterion. On the other hand, it promotes quality in higher education such as by way of supporting seminars on studies related to education. He said that only 20 percent of educational institutions are sub-standard but this number is wider in countries like India.

Prof. Prasad has put forth, amongst others, three questions that the seminar would consider and take up for consideration. “Are we sure about the methodologies we use for teaching are appropriate in respect of goals or objectives of learning?” He said that appropriate methodologies are what are required to go towards our goals of learning. Having visited many educational institutions as a part of his Assessment and Accreditation process, Prof. Prasad said he often was dissatisfied at the poor Vision and Mission statements of the institutions. He said that there is some disconnection between the world of education and the world of work because of the lack of relevant education that leads to work.

Prof. Prasad has put forth, amongst others, three questions that the seminar would consider and take up for consideration. “Are we sure about the methodologies we use for teaching are appropriate in respect of goals or objectives of learning?” He said that appropriate methodologies are what are required to go towards our goals of learning. Having visited many educational institutions as a part of his Assessment and Accreditation process, Prof. Prasad said he often was dissatisfied at the poor Vision and Mission statements of the institutions. He said that there is some disconnection between the world of education and the world of work because of the lack of relevant education that leads to work.

He said today classrooms are more heterogeneous in the sense that students come from various backgrounds and communities unlike the olden days where students are homogeneous in the sense that the classroom is more filled by students from the higher communities of the society. He said that Education has three dimensions – Knowledge, Skills and Values.

The final question put before the seminar is about measuring the effectiveness of teaching. “Are we measuring the right things during evaluation?” He said that teachers and students need contextual intelligence. As an example, he quoted of magazines commenting on IIM students as having overgrown brains but underdeveloped hearts.

He said NAAC identifies and encourages best practices in Higher Educational institutions. He said that Higher Educational institutions can experiment new methods and methodologies in teaching and asked them to share their practices with others, no matter, how small the practices could be.

NAAC advocates for students active participation in the classroom and hence 2006 is termed as the Year of Student Participation. He asked the seminar not to stop after discussing on various issues but to critically understand and broaden the framework of the educational process. He said that the idea of holding the seminars is not to identify mistakes and pass the blame to something.

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