KSHEC moots rating mechanism for colleges

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In an attempt to create academic institutions of excellence in the state, a rating mechanism for colleges has been proposed by the Kerala State Higher Education Council (KSHEC).The two-day meeting of the KSHEC, which began here on Wednesday, would also consider framing new guidelines for the credit and semester system,  make an analysis of the reservation pattern existing in the scholarship distribution and find ways to fund scholarships for professional courses.  Addressing its first meeting here on Wednesday after its reconstitution by the UDF Government, Vice-Chairman of KSHEC T P Sreenivasan said that a scheme should be devised by which institutions in the state were selected for intensive efforts to turn them into institutions of excellence. A rating mechanism, whereby the improvement of an institution can be assessed and deserving institutions be encouraged by giving them incentives, could kick start the Council’s efforts to creating universities of excellence, the Vice-Chairman said.  The selection could be made from the colleges which volunteer to join the scheme. One yardstick would be their link with national and international institutions, he said.If the Council accepts the scheme, it should be submitted to the government before the end of the year,’’ T P Sreenivasan said.  The Council would begin its preparations for the formulation of approach paper for the 12th Five Year Plan in a few days. New methods to ensure high quality teaching and research would be incorporated into the Five Year Plan. As part of this, consultations with stakeholders would be held soon. Consultations with individuals, groups and interactions with universities would be held from next week, Sreenivasan said.  The Vice-Chairman said that the Centre had agreed in  principle to establish IIT in Kerala by including it in the 12th Plan. The Council would advice the government to take necessary steps to make it a reality as soon as possible, he said. The meeting of KSHEC would conclude on Thursday. P Anvar is the member-secretary of the reconstituted Council. Dr Ramachandran Thekkedathu, Prof C I Abdul Rahman, Dr R Jayaprakash, Lopez Mathew, Dr Veeramanikandan and Dr Sheena Shukoor are the members.