IIT Council Endorses Accreditation Move; Framework Yet to Be Finalized
The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are set to undergo formal accreditation, following a decision taken at the IIT Council meeting held on Monday. However, clarity on which body will conduct the accreditation and the exact modalities is still awaited, according to senior officials from the Ministry of Education.
The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 had proposed the creation of a National Accreditation Council (NAC) under the Higher Education Commission of India (HECI) to serve as an overarching accreditation body. With HECI yet to be established, the accreditation process for IITs remains to be fully mapped out.
At present, IITs follow their own peer-review based evaluation system and do not fall under the ambit of the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), which accredits most higher education institutions in the country. A committee headed by Dr. K. Radhakrishnan had in 2023 recommended bringing IITs into a unified accreditation framework.
Officials indicated that IITs may soon propose their own framework for the process. A timeline for implementation has not been set.
The council, meeting after two years—the last session was in April 2023—also reviewed initiatives related to student well-being. IIT Madras presented details of its efforts toward supporting mental health, with members stressing the need for a stronger institutional response in this area.
Another key issue discussed was the use of regional languages in technical education. Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan urged IITs to adopt Indian languages as a medium of instruction to foster inclusive growth. Currently, IIT Jodhpur is the only institute offering first-year BTech courses in Hindi. Final decisions on language adoption will rest with the Senate of each institute.
Although the National Credit Framework was listed on the agenda, it was not taken up for discussion. Officials noted, however, that IITs have already prepared a framework for its implementation.