Evolution of higher learning and research in Post-Independence India.

 

 

Evolution of higher learning and research in Post-Independence India.

 

1.    First college was set up in 1918 in Seram pore in Bengal imparting western education in India. In 1857, three Central Universities of Calcutta, Bombay and Madras were set up, 27 colleges were affiliated. In 1947, 19 Universities were there in India. (CABE, 2005).

2.    Total No. State Universities 418, Deemed to be Universities 125, Central Universities 54 Private Universities 370, Total university is 967  ( Source: UGC on 31.12.2020).

 

3.    The central government via the University Grants Commission (UGC) or the AICTE provides support to various state-run university. Universities in India functionally are multi-faculty universities, single faculty universities (agricultural, technological and medical universities) apart from the universities there also institutions of national importance like IITs, IIMs deemed to be universities (BITS, IISc).

4.    The rule and regulations by these agencies make the higher education system more complex. The various stakeholders in the regulatory framework in the country are State governments, professional councils like University Grant Commission (UGC), All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) etc.

5.    The growth of Higher education in India after post-independence is phenomenal. It is more than half a century ever since the government initiated a planned development of higher education in the country particularly with the establishment of University Grants Commission in 1953. During 1950 and 2020 the number of universities has increased from 20 to about 967. colleges from 500 to 40,000 and teachers from 15,000 to around more than10 lakhs. Consequently, enrollment of students has increased from a mere of 0.1 million in 1950 to 30 million. (Based on UGC Report 2016).

Radhakrishnan Commission (1948-49)

1.    The first major commission to study the state of the universities in India after independence was the Radhakrishnan Commission (also known as the University Education Commission) in 1948-49

2.    The most significant recommendation of the Commission was that a University Grants Commission modelled on the University Grants Committee in Great Britain be set up as a liaison between the central government and the universities.

3.    This last recommendation became a reality in 1956 when the University Grants Commission (UGC) was established by an act of Parliament which stated that “The Constitution of India vests Parliament with the exclusive authority in regard to coordination and determination of standards in institutions of higher education and research and scientific and technical institutions.”

Secondary education Commission ( Mudaliar Commission 1952-53)

1.    The Secondary Education Commission was appointed by the Government of India Resolution on 23rd September 1952 under the Chairmanship of Dr. A. Lakshmana swami Mudaliar, Vice-Chancellor, Madras University to examine the prevailing system of secondary education in the country.

2.     it was aimed to suggest measures for its reorganization and improvement with reference to the aims, organisation and content of secondary education, its relationship to primary and higher education and the interrelation of secondary schools of different types.

Education commission (Kothari Commission 1964-66)

1.    The Commission was appointed under provision of a resolution of the Government of India, dated 14th July, 1964and it began its task on October 2,1964.

2.    The Commission included eminent educationists in diverse fields from India and abroad. It consisted of total 17 members, where 14 members, 1 member – secretary, 1 Associate – Secretary and Dr. D.S. Kothari, chairman of the U.G.C. was appointed as the chairman of the commission. Therefore, it is also known as the Kothari Commission.

3.    The Commission submitted its report to the Government on June 29, 1966. It was laid on the Table of the House on August 29, 1966.The report of the Commission, is a voluminous document of about 700 pages. It has been hailed as referred for all change and reform in Education.

4.    Although it is 20 years old, yet it maintains its fragrance and freshness. Even the new National Policy on Education (1986) has been mainly based on its recommendations. It is termed as Bible for Teachers‘and should be read with flair.

Rammurthy Review Committee ( 1990)

1.    The committee to review the National Policy on Education 1986, was formed on 7thNovember 1990 with Acharya Ramamurthy as Chairman and sixteen others as members. This Committee ‘s report bears the title ―Towards an Enlightened and Humane Society.

2.    The Committee was appointed to review the National Policy on Education 1986 and make recommendations regarding the revision of the policy and action necessary for implementation of the revised policy within a time-frame.

Role of Department of Higher Education:

The Department of Higher Education, MHRD, is responsible for the overall development of the basic infrastructure of the Higher Education sector, both in terms of policy and planning. Under a planned development process, the Department looks after expansion of access and qualitative improvement in the Higher Education, through world-class Universities, Colleges and other Institutions.

Role of Department of Higher Education:

1.    Enhancement of Gross Enrollment Ratio by expanding access through all modes.

2.    Promoting the participation of these sections of the society whose GER is lower than the national average.

3.    To improve quality and to promote academic reforms

4.    Setting up of new educational institutions and also capacity expansion and improvement of the existing institutions.

5.    Use of Technology in Higher Education.

6.    Development of Vocational Education and Skill Development.

7.     Development of Indian Languages.

8.    International Collaboration in the field of education.

 

 

1.    The regulatory framework of this sector in India is multi-layered. At the last chain of delivery – the classroom, three sets of regulations operate – University, College, and Council

2.    Universities awarding their own degrees are classified into five types based on their management – Central University, State University, Private University, Institutions-deemed-to-be-a-University and Institute of National Importance. Colleges award degrees in the name of the university to which they are affiliated.

3.    Apart from providing grants to eligible universities and colleges, the Commission also advises the Central and State Governments on the measures which are necessary for the development of Higher Education. It functions from New Delhi as well as its six Regional offices located in Bangalore, Bhopal, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Pune.

4.    Different regulatory bodies such as the Medical Council of India (MCI), All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and the Bar Council India (BCI), among others, manage different professional courses. There are two accrediting institutions– namely National Board of Accreditation (NBA) established by AICTE and National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) established by UGC. PCI ( Pharmacy council of India) DEC( Distance Education council) , NCTE( National council for teacher education), ICAR( Indian council of Agricultural Research), ICMR( Indian Council of Medical Research). ICSSR(Indian Council of Social Science Research ), CSIR( The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research)

 

Some important Educational Institutes

NCTE

The National Council for Teacher Education, in its previous status since 1973, was an advisory body for the Central and State Governments on all matters pertaining to teacher education, with its Secretariat in the Department of Teacher Education of the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT). Despite its commendable work in the academic fields, it could not perform essential regulatory functions, to ensure maintenance of standards in teacher education and preventing proliferation of substandard teacher education institutions. The National Policy on Education (NPE), 1986 and the Programme of Action thereunder, envisaged a National Council for Teacher Education with statutory status and necessary resources as a first step for overhauling the system of teacher education.

The National Council for Teacher Education as a statutory body came into existence in pursuance of the National Council for Teacher Education Act, 1993 (No. 73 of 1993) on the 17th August,1995.

 

The main objective of the NCTE is to achieve planned and coordinated development of the teacher education system throughout the country, the regulation and proper maintenance of Norms and Standards in the teacher education system and for matters connected therewith. The mandate given to the NCTE is very broad and covers the whole gamut of teacher education programmes including research and training of persons for equipping them to teach at pre-primary, primary, secondary and senior secondary stages in schools, and non-formal education, part-time education, adult education and distance (correspondence) education courses.

 

Main functions of NCTE:

It shall be the duty of the Council to take all such steps as it may think fit for ensuring planned and co-ordinated development of teacher education and for the determination and maintenance of standards for teacher education and for the purposes of performing its functions under this Act, the Council may:

1.    Undertake surveys and studies relating to various aspects of teacher education and publish the result thereof;

2.    Make recommendations to the Central and State Government, Universities, University Grants Commission and recognised institutions in the matter of preparation of suitable plans and programmes in the field of teacher education;

3.    Co-ordinate and monitor teacher education and its development in the country;

4.    Lay down guidelines in respect of minimum qualifications for a person to be employed as a teacher in schools or in recognised institutions;

5.    Lay down norms for any specified category of courses or trainings in teacher education, including the minimum eligibility criteria for admission thereof, and the method of selection of candidates, duration of the course, course contents and mode of curriculum;

6.    Lay down guidelines for compliance by recognised institutions, for starting new courses or training, and for providing physical and instructional facilities, staffing pattern and staff qualification;

7.    Lay down standards in respect of examinations leading to teacher education qualifications, criteria for admission to such examinations and schemes of courses or training;

8.    Lay down guidelines regarding tuition fees and other fees chargeable by recognised institutions;

9.    Promote and conduct innovation and research in various areas of teacher education and disseminate the results thereof;

10. Examine and review periodically the implementation of the norms, guidelines and standards laid down by the Council, and to suitably advise the recognised institution;

11. Evolve suitable performance appraisal system, norms and mechanism for enforcing accountability on recognised institutions;

12. Formulate schemes for various levels of teacher education and identify recognised institutions and set up new institutions for teacher development programmes;

NCERT

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is an autonomous organisation set up in 1961 by the Government of India to assist and advise the Central and State Governments on policies and programmes for qualitative improvement in school education. The major objectives of NCERT and its constituent units are to: undertake, promote and coordinate research in areas related to school education; prepare and publish model textbooks, supplementary material, newsletters, journals and develops educational kits, multimedia digital materials, etc. organise pre-service and in-service training of teachers; develop and disseminate innovative educational techniques and practices; collaborate and network with state educational departments universities, NGOs and other educational institutions; act as a clearing house for ideas and information in matters related to school education; and act as a nodal agency for achieving the goals of Universalisation of Elementary Education. In addition to research, development, training, extension, publication and dissemination activities, NCERT is an implementation agency for bilateral cultural exchange programmes with other countries in the field of school education. The NCERT also interacts and works in collaboration with the international organisations, visiting foreign delegations and offers various training facilities to educational personnel from developing countries.

The major constituent units of NCERT which are located in different regions of the country are:

National Institute of Education (NIE), New Delhi
Central Institute of Educational Technology (CIET), New Delhi
Pandit Sundarlal Sharma Central Institute of Vocational Education (PSSCIVE), Bhopal
Regional Institute of Education (RIE), Ajmer
Regional Institute of Education (RIE), Bhopal
Regional Institute of Education (RIE), Bhubaneswar
Regional Institute of Education (RIE), Mysore
North-East Regional Institute of Education (NERIE), Shillong

a. 

 

 

 

NAAC

The National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) conducts assessment and accreditation of Higher Educational Institutions (HEI) such as colleges, universities or other recognised institutions to derive an understanding of the ‘Quality Status’ of the institution. NAAC evaluates the institutions for its conformance to the standards of quality in terms of its performance related to the educational processes and outcomes, curriculum coverage, teaching-learning processes, faculty, research, infrastructure, learning resources, organisation, governance, financial wellbeing and student services.

NAAC resides on a sprawling campus spread across five acres at Nagarbhavi, opposite to the National Law School of India, in the Bangalore University, Jnanabharathi campus.

 

Mission:

• To arrange for periodic assessment and accreditation of institutions of higher education or units thereof, or specific academic programmes or projects;
• To stimulate the academic environment for promotion of quality of teaching-learning and research in higher education institutions;
• To encourage self-evaluation, accountability, autonomy and innovations in higher education;
• To undertake quality-related research studies, consultancy and training programmes;
• To collaborate with other stakeholders of higher education for quality evaluation, promotion and sustenance.

QCI

The Quality Council of India (QCI) is a pioneering experiment of the Government of India in setting up organizations in partnership with the Indian industry.

 

The Mission of QCI is to lead nationwide quality movement in India by involving all stakeholders for emphasis on adherence to quality standards in all spheres of activities primarily for promoting and protecting interests of the nation and its citizens.

Main objectives of QCI:

To achieve the Mission of QCI by playing a pivotal role in propagating, adoption and adherence to quality standards in all important spheres of activities including education, healthcare, environment protection, governance, social sectors, infrastructure sector and such other areas of organized activities that have significant bearing in improving the quality of life and well being of the citizens of India and without restricting its generality shall inter-alia include:

·        To lead nationwide quality movement in the country through National Quality Campaign aimed at creating awareness amongst citizens, empowering them to demand quality in all spheres of activities, and promoting and protecting their well being by encouraging manufacturers and suppliers of goods and service providers for adoption of and adherence to quality standards and tools.

·        To develop apropos capacities at the level of Governments, Institutions and enterprises for implementing & institutionalizing continuous quality improvement.

·        To develop, establish & operate National Accreditation programmes in accordance with the relevant international standards & guides for the conformity assessment bodies certifying products, personnel, management systems, carrying out inspection and for the laboratories undertaking testing & calibration and such other areas of organized activities that have significant bearing in improving the quality of life and well being of the citizens of India.

·        To develop, establish and operate National Accreditation Programmes for various service sectors such as education, healthcare, environment protection, governance, social sectors, infrastructure sector, vocational training etc., to site a few, as may be required, based on national/international standards and guidelines and where such standards are not available, to develop accreditation standards to support accreditation programs.

·        To build capacities in the areas of regulation, conformity assessment and accreditation to overcome TBT/SPS constraints.

·        To encourage development & application of third party assessment model for use in government, regulators, organizations and society.

·        To promote quality competitiveness of India's enterprises especially MSMEs through adoption of and adherence to quality management standards and quality tools.

·        Promoting the establishment of quality improvement and benchmarking centre, as a repository of best international / national practices and their dissemination among the industry in all the sectors.

·        To encourage industrial / applied research and development in the field of quality and dissemination of its result in relevant publication including and trade journals;

·        To build capacities including development of appropriate quality accreditation mechanism for other emerging areas that have significant bearing in improving the quality of life and well being of the citizens of India such as food sector, oil & gas, forestry, agriculture /animal husbandry, warehouse, pharmacy etc. or as the need may arise from time to time.

·        To facilitate effective functioning of a National Information & Enquiry Services on standards & quality including an appeal mechanism to deal with unresolved complaints.

·        To develop and operate an appeal mechanism to deal with unresolved complaints;

 

NIEPA

The National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA), (Deemed to be University) established by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, is a premier organization dealing with capacity building and research in planning and management of education not only in India but also in South Asia. In recognition of the pioneering work done by the organization in the field of educational planning and administration, the Government of India have empowered it to award its own degrees by way of conferring it the status of Deemed to be University in August, 2006. Like any Central University, NIEPA is fully maintained by the Government of India.
The National Institute has its origin dating back to 1962 when the UNESCO established the Asian Regional Centre for Educational Planners and Administrators which later became the Asian Institute of Educational Planning and Administration in 1965. After 4 years of its existence, it was taken over by the Government of India and renamed as the National Staff College for Educational Planners and Administrators. Subsequently, with the increased roles and functions of the National Staff College, particularly in capacity building, research and professional support services to governments, it was again renamed as the National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA) in 1979.

 

UGC (University Grants Commission)

          UGC was established on 28^th December, 1953 at New Delhi. It was given autonomy by the Government of India in 1956. Its functions are, to provide financial assistance to the universities and the colleges to meet their requirements; it provides financial assistance for the development of the universities to meet their needs and requirements; it makes provision of guidelines to the centre and the state government for giving grants to the universities; it makes provision of grants for five years for making provision of new university within the state; it provides grants for five years to launch a new department or any academic program in the university, but in the present state concurrence is essential; it encourages higher level research work and teaching activities by providing financial assistance; it provides grants for higher education and new programs within the colleges and universities and it provides fellowship for the teachers and project work for the university and college teachers.

          The functions of UGC with regards to the teacher education committees are, to upgrade the standard of education. Teacher-education committees were formed consisting of seven members for the time period of two years. It provides awareness of new innovations and research in teacher education; the national fellowship and teacher fellowship are granted for the encouragement of research and teaching work; it provides travel grants to the university lecturers for attending international conferences and seminars; visiting professors are appointed from among the university professors for interchange programs and delivering lectures; residential accommodation are also provided for the university and college teachers and research associates are appointed for the post-doctoral research studies. Grants are given by the UGC to the university teachers for conducting their own researches. In 1953-54, the Ministry of Education launched a scheme to make provision of grants to the teachers, colleges and departments of education in the universities to enable them to carry out research on educational problems, selected by them and approved by the central ministry.

The main purpose of this scheme is to make provision of facilities for research. This has been experiencing problems due to the deficiency in the financial resources. The staff members, employed within the training colleges are the ones, who are vested with the job responsibilities of carrying out the function of research. The facilities and the equipment is provided to the individuals to complete the projects. For leading to improvements in the standards of teaching and research within the country, there has been establishment of the Centre for Advanced Studies (CASE) by the UGC. CASE has been set up in different branches of knowledge. It selected the faculty of education and psychology. Baroda as the CASE in education functions on an all-India basis. It has the main objective of raising the principles in education and research. It has built up its program in collaboration with the research workers from outside.

The UGC`s mandate includes: 

·        Promoting and coordinating university education.

·        Determining and maintaining standards of teaching, examination and research in universities.

·        Framing regulations on minimum standards of education.

·        Monitoring developments in the field of collegiate and university education; disbursing grants to the universities and colleges.

·        Serving as a vital link between the Union and state governments and institutions of higher learning.

·        Advising the Central and State governments on the measures necessary for improvement of university education.

 

NTA

 

National Testing Agency (NTA) has been established as a premier, specialist, autonomous and self-sustained testing organization to conduct entrance examinations for admission/fellowship in higher educational institutions.

Main objective of NTA

.

• To conduct efficient, transparent and international standards tests in order to assess the competency of candidates for admission, and recruitment purposes.
• To undertake research on educational, professional and testing systems to identify gaps in the knowledge systems and take steps for bridging them.
• To identify experts and institutions in setting examination questions.
• To produce and disseminate information and research on education and professional development standards.

 

 

RMSA

Education provides the surest instrument for attaining sustainable development of a high order in a country. In this regard, primary education acts as the basic enabling factor for participation, freedom and overcoming of basic deprivation; whereas secondary education facilitates economic development and establishment of social justice. Over the years, liberalisation and globalisation have led to rapid changes in scientific and technological world and have prompted the general needs of improved quality of life and reduced poverty. This undoubtedly necessitates the school leavers to acquire higher levels of knowledge and skills than what they are essentially imparted with throughout the eight years of elementary education. Also, a crucial stage in the educational hierarchy, secondary education empowers children to aggrandise nations by preparing them for higher education and also the world of work.

Following the recommendations of New Education Policy of 1986 and Programme of Action, 1992 the Government of India initiated different schemes to support children of secondary and higher secondary schools at different points in time. The IEDSS (formerly IEDC), Girls’ Hostel, Vocational Education and ICT@schools schemes were started with the overall objective of providing accessible, and relevant secondary education of good quality in India. Started in 2009 in partnership with State Government and Local Self Government, RMSA was the most recent addition to these four existing schemes.

The Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan is a flagship scheme of Government of India, launched in March, 2009, to enhance access to secondary education and improve its quality. The implementation of the scheme started from 2009-10 to generate human capital and provide sufficient conditions for accelerating growth and development and equity as also quality of life for everyone in India. Largely built upon the successes of SSA and, like SSA, RMSA leverages support from a wide range of stakeholders including multilateral organisations, NGOs, advisors and consultants, research agencies and institutions. The scheme involves multidimensional research, technical consulting, implementation and funding support. Currently in its fourth year of implementation, RMSA covers 50,000 government and local body secondary schools. Besides this, an additional of 30,000 aided secondary schools can also access the benefits of RMSA; but not infrastructure and support in core areas.

Main objective of RMSA

·        Improve the quality of education imparted at secondary level by making all secondary schools conform to prescribed norms.

·        Remove gender, socio-economic and disability barriers.

·        Enhance and universalize retention by 2020

 

Implementation mechanism of the scheme:
MHRD is the nodal central government ministry to coordinate RMSA with the help of RMSA State Implementation Societies (SIS) in each state. However, there are a lot of support arrangements and institutions available for better implementation of RMSA. A National Resource Group (NRG) provides guidance for bringing about reforms in teaching learning processes, curriculum, teaching learning material, ICT education and mechanisms of monitoring and evaluation. The Technical Support Group (TSG) supported by MHRD, is a constituent of the NRG and has a direct reporting relationship with the ministry. TSG provides technical and operational support and expertise to national and state level teams.

Besides this, various sub-committees like Curriculum Reform Subcommittee, Teacher and Teacher Development Subcommittee, ICT Subcommittee and Planning and Management Subcommittee have been constituted under NRG. These subcommittees comprise members from the TSG and meet thrice a year to apprise themselves of the progress made on mutually set goals and commitments. In addition, NCERT and NUEPA support through dedicated RMSA units. RMSA-TCA has also been set-up for capacity building support with the assistance of DFID. In terms of financial inputs, the central share is released to the implementing agencies directly, whereas the applicable state share is also released to the agencies by the respective State Governments.

 

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan

  SSA, is an Indian Government programme aimed at the universalisation of elementary education "in a time bound manner", the 86th Amendment to the Constitution of India making free and compulsory education to children between the ages of 6 and 14 (estimated to be 205 million children in 2001) a fundamental right. The programme was pioneered by former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

As an intervention programme, it started on 2002 and SSA has been operational since 2000-2001However, its roots go back to 1993-1994, when the District Primary Education Programme (DPEP) was launched, with an aim of achieving the objective of universal primary education. DPEP, over several phases, covered 272 districts in 18 states of the country. The expenditure on the programme was shared by the Central Government (85%) and the State Governments (15%). The Central share was funded by a number of external agencies, including the World Bank, Department for International Development (DFID) and UNICEF. By 2001, more than $1500 million had been committed to the programme, and 50 million children covered in its ambit. In an impact assessment of Phase I of DPEP, the authors concluded that its net impact on minority children was impressive, while there was little evidence of any impact on the enrolment of girls. Nevertheless, they concluded that the investment in DPEP was not a waste, because it introduced a new approach to primary school interventions in India.

The Right to Education Act (RTE) came into force on 1 April 2010. Some educationists and policy makers believe that, with the passing of this act, SSA has acquired the necessary legal force for its implementation.

This programme is also an attempt to provide an opportunity for improving human capabilities to all children through provision of community -owned quality education in a mission mode. It is a response to the demand for quality basic education all over the country. School Chalen Hum" Poem was created to make the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) program successful.

Padhe Bharat Badhe Bharat is a nationwide sub-programme of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.Children who fail to read in early education lag behind in other subjects. The programme is designed to improve comprehensive early reading, writing and early mathematics programme for children in Classes I and II.

SSA interventions include inter alia, opening of new schools and alternate schooling facilities, construction of schools and additional classrooms, toilets and drinking water, provisioning for teachers, regular teacher in service training and academic resource support, free textbooks& uniforms and support for improving learning achievement levels. With the passage of the RTE Act, changes have been incorporated into the SSA approach, strategies and norms.

The changes encompass the vision and approach to elementary education, guided by the following principles :

Holistic view of education, as interpreted in the National Curriculum Framework 2005, with implications for a systemic revamp of the entire content and process of education with significant implications for curriculum, teacher education, educational planning and management.

Equity, to mean not only equal opportunity, but also creation of conditions in which the disadvantaged sections of the society – children of SC, ST, Muslim minority, landless agricultural workers and children with special needs, etc. can avail of the opportunity.

Access, not to be confined to ensuring that a school becomes accessible to all children within specified distance but implies an understanding of the educational needs and predicament of the traditionally excluded categories  the SC, ST and others sections of the most disadvantaged groups, the Muslim minority, girls in general, and children with special needs.

Gender concern, implying not only an effort to enable girls to keep pace with boys but to view education in the perspective spelt out in the National Policy on Education 1986 /92; i.e. a decisive intervention to bring about a basic change in the status of women.

Centrality of teacher, to motivate them to innovate and create a culture in the classroom, and beyond the classroom, that might produce an inclusive environment for children, especially for girls from oppressed and marginalised backgrounds.

Moral compulsion is imposed through the RTE Act on parents, teachers, educational administrators and other stakeholders, rather than shifting emphasis on punitive processes. Convergent and integrated system of educational management is pre-requisite for implementation of the RTE law. All states must move in that direction as speedily as feasible

Provide quality elementary education including life skills with a special focus on the education of girls and children with special needs as well as computer education.

INQAAHE

The International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (INQAAHE) established in 1991 with only 8 members. its Headquarters is Barcelona, Spain. It is a world-wide association of 364 members (in 2017) organisations active in the theory and practice of quality assurance in higher education. The great majority of its members are quality assurance agencies that operate in many different ways although the Network also welcomes (as associate members) other organisations that have an interest in QA in HE.

INQAAHE offers members many services, including a Journal, a Bulletin, a Query service, a Good Practice database, funding for projects and funding for a Professional Qualification in QA. There are also Conferences and for a at least annually. HE has dramatically changed over the last decades. Distance education as well as vocational education have become increasingly more important as is the need for recognition of prior learning. HE has become more global than ever before. Professional accreditation has become more important as more higher education institutions (HEI) delivering programs in different modes enter the market. All these have thrust the QA agencies into ever expanding roles.

INQAAHE is a QA community, with shared interests, a common language and an understanding of how things are done with regard to a very specific field of work. It provides a forum for the discussion of global issues that go beyond national or regional boundaries, such as cross border education. Members have the opportunity to learn from what others are doing, both from their successes and their failures, and thus have now set the ground for the development of a QA profession.