INDIA

INDIA: Accreditation mandatory for higher education
Accreditation is to be made mandatory for all institutes of higher education regardless of whether they get government grants, parliament was informed recently, reports Thaindian News. "The law has been drafted and we are engaged in inter-ministerial discussions," Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal said during question hour in the Rajya Sabha, adding that the law would be brought soon before cabinet and hopefully introduced in the budget session of parliament starting in Febuary 2010.Once the law comes into effect, all institutions of higher learning, regardless of whether they award degrees, diplomas or other certificates, and regardless of whether they receive aid from the University Grants Commission (UGC), will have to get themselves registered with the National Accreditation and Assessment Council (NAAC), the minister said.
"The intention is that all institutions of higher learning must be compulsorily and mandatorily accredited," he added. Sibal said the NAAC had identified a seven-stage accreditation process.
Full report on the Thandian News site