November 28, 2013, 12:51 pm
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has made accreditation mandatory and asked them to start applying online for it. Initially, it was voluntary and now, after a pilot project, it has been made mandatory.
UC Bodh, deputy secretary (affiliation), wrote to schools, "it is brought to the notice of all heads of the affiliated school that it has been made mandatory to get accreditated once every five years. This has been done keeping in view the concerns regarding quality of education."
Schools will have to shell out Rs55,000 as affiliation fee. Once accreditated they get a special benefit. Bodh said all accreditated schools will get a ’permanently affiliated’ status. The schools need to apply online by filling up ’Form of Intent’ on CBSE’s website. The central board is calling the accreditation process the School Quality Assessment and Accreditation Scheme ( SQAA).
It will be a three-phase process with the first being schools submitting their application online along with relevant evidence to support the data. The second phase will involve a visit to the school by Peer Assessor Team (PAT) or agency for validation of data and collection of
supporting evidence. The agency means private firms empanelled by the central board to do the field visits and verify school data. PAT will comprise three members who would be school principals and who have been certified to be assessors for accreditation by CBSE. The third phase will be final reporting on the applicant school’s accreditation by PAT/agency to CBSE.
A final decision will be taken by CBSE. The board is also undertaking orientation workshops at regional level on how to prepare for accreditation. Bodh writes, "details of such programmes will be made available on the website. Schools are advised not to take help of any private agencies in this regard. The board encourages all its affiliated schools to undertake the accreditation exercise to review their dimensions of quality and excellence."
