Kozhikode: Three autonomous colleges under Calicut University have excelled in the recently published National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) grading with St Joseph’s College, Devagiri, topping the list with A ++ grade and 3.76 (out of 4) CGPA score. Out of the 330 institutions underwent accreditation process after the introduction of new grading system (with A++ and A +), St Joseph’s emerged the country's topper.
Feroke College which scored A+ (3.51 CGPA score) and Christ College, Irinjalakuda, (A with 3.21 CPA score) are the other two autonomous colleges on the top of the list published after NAAC’s 17th standing committee meeting.
Experts feel the autonomy has helped these institutions better their previous grades remarkably as the criteria for granting autonomy and NAAC accreditation are almost similar.
“It helps them better design their curriculum and also to publish results on time," vice-chancellor Dr K. Mohammed Basheer said. "These things will help to get better grades as ultimately the timeliness in publishing results help the students when they go to higher courses.” Their grading criteria are different from that of other affiliated colleges. The NAAC introduced new grading system with the addition of A++ and A+ in July.
“When a college applies for autonomous status, they have to satisfy certain criteria," Kannur University pro-VC Dr T. Ashokan said. "They are similar to the factors considered by the NAAC for assessment. So in a way, the autonomous status and NAAC accreditation are mutually complementing and obviously, the chances of getting a better grade are more.”
Well-planned strategy paid off
Principals of Devagiri St Joseph’s College and Farook College attribute the higher grades of NAAC to the quality academics and well-planned strategy. The NAAC teams had also lauded the examination results of students and number of qualified teachers who had undertaken research projects in their assessment. They also considered the number of PhDs, minor and major research projects, the number of research papers published and seminars conducted, examination schedule and publication of results while grading the colleges.
Dr Sibichen M. Thomas, the principal of the NAAC list topper Devagiri St Joseph’s College, said apart from maintaining quality studies and qualified faculty, they maintained an excellent academic environment. “In each semester we can give 93 days of classes to the students whereas the UGC norm is 90 days,” he said. “Number of university ranks and NET/JRF pass percentage, pro-active management and self-study reports were also specially mentioned by the NAAC team,” added its IQAC coordinator Dr M.K. Baby.
“We need to strengthen our research departments and outreach programmes for taking it to newer heights.” “One of the main things the NAAC finds positive is our extension programme. Through our pain and palliative programme, we are reaching out to over 300 people and are also giving medical aid through our health centre. We are spending Rs 12 lakh for this extension programme alone annually,” Farook College principal Prof E.P. Imbichi Koya said. The Edu Support programme for financially weaker students, solar power plant project, etc. were also praised by the NAAC team. “Our next aim is to get into the UGC list of ‘College of Excellence’. We are hoping that we can do it by 2019,” he said.
