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Here’s why you must enroll for a NBA-Accredited Engineering College!

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SJCELast year, the job prospects of about 15,000 Indian engineers looked bleak after the Kuwaiti government announced that only those engineers with a degree from a college accredited by National Board of Accreditation (NBA) would be allowed to renew their residence permit in Kuwait. The sudden development sent shockwaves and it affected employability of nearly 60-70% of the Indian engineers, some even from those premier IIT institutes that were not accredited by NBA. Subsequently a large section of engineers was mandated to obtain No Objection Certificate (NOC) from Kuwait Society of Engineers, which insisted that the Indian engineers hailed from NBA accredited colleges. Non-NBA engineering graduates were mandated to undergo further scrutiny for the validation of their degree programs and the authenticity of their Non-NBA accredited institutes.

Interestingly in India, despite having one of the highest number of engineering colleges and lakhs of engineering graduates passing out each year, barely 15 percent colleges across the country are NBA-accredited.

So what exactly is NBA, how does it bring validation to your engineering degree?

NBA was established by AICTE (All India Council for Technical Education) in the year 1994, for periodic evaluations of technical institutions and programs as specified by AICTE. The body which became autonomous in 2010, provided quality assurance of the educational programs in professional and technical disciplines such as Management, Architecture, Pharmacy, Engineering and Technology. In 2014, India became one of the ‘permanent member’ of the 17 nations signing the Washington Accord agreement. The NBA’s recognition to graduates programs, is duly recognized by the member countries of the ‘Washington Accord’.

NBA’s criteria, process and accreditation parameters takes cognizance of the best international practices and oriented to assess the outcomes of the programs. The NBA’s accreditation affirms that the engineering graduate has undergone quality academic training and can practice at domestic and international levels.

Principal of St Joseph Engineering College (Vamanjoor), Dr Rio D’Souza says that NBA-Accreditation is essential for an engineering institute to be identified as an institute conforming to the global standards of technical training. “It facilitates the scope of employment of engineering graduates who want to pursue higher education or occupation abroad, be it in Gulf or western countries,” he says.

In Dakshina Kannada (DK), St Joseph Engineering College (SJEC) received NBA accreditation to four of its courses in 2013 and re-accreditation in 2016. Barely 17-years old and one of the young educational institutes of DK district, SJEC offers Engineering, Business Administration and Computer Applications at Under Graduate, Post Graduate and Research levels. The college has about 2,300 students, well qualified staff, futuristic laboratories, campus placements, sports and extra-curricular activities for all round development of the students.

Dr Rio D’Souza recollects that in October 2016 the NBA’s expert team had visited the campus and thoroughly examined SJEC, which is affiliated to Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) and recognized by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). “They appreciated the academic infrastructure, management, faculty, student contributions and Outcome Based Education (OBE) practices adopted in the college,” he said.

The apex body re-accredited SJEC’s degrees in Computer Science and Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical & Electronics Engineering, and Electronics and Communication Engineering. “The engineering degrees obtained by four-streams of SJEC students will be recognized as equivalent to other degrees of NBA member countries such as Australia, Canada, Japan, United Kingdom and United States. The respective students will also be able to transfer ‘additional credits’ earned in the qualifying degree to the higher degree (abroad) when they pursue education in ‘member countries’,” Dr Rio adds.

SJEC had a better prospect for receiving NBA-accreditation since they were one of the ‘early adopters’ of Outcome Based Education (OBE) system. “Using OBE methodology in the classes, opportunities, and assessments, we help students to reach educational goals (outcomes) by the end of the academic calendar. Under OBE even the faculty’s role is that of an instructor, trainer, and facilitator, to meet the outcome targets. The Washington Accord countries accept undergraduate engineering degrees that were obtained using OBE methods,” the SJEC authorities say.

According to Higher educational experts most of the Indian Engineering Colleges stay away from seeking NBA accreditation since the norms and rules prescribed are very stringent. Speaking to the media on earlier occasion, Chairman of All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) Anil D Sahasrabudhe, had emphasized that all technical courses must get themselves equipped with NBA accreditation. “Engineering graduates from India must have global opportunities; therefore, all technical educational institutes must meet up to the challenge and must have NBA accreditation. They must ensure that they meet the global academic and infrastructure standards. NBA has been made compulsory for educational institutes for both expansions of their courses and increasing their intake,” he said.

Further, NBA would grant the institute better autonomy to deploy innovative and modern methods of pedagogy. Make them eligible to receive funds from government schemes for faculty development, up-gradation of equipment’s and act as a reliable and effective facilitator of human capital to world class employers and other stakeholders.

In its current pipeline, SJEC says that they are trying to secure its accreditation to its Civil Engineering course. “Accreditation is something that really sets us apart. For us, it becomes a measure of quality assurance, and gradually is fetching rich dividends both for our students and the institution,” Dr Rio D’Souza says.

Here's why you must enroll for a NBA-Accredited Engineering College!
Here's why you must enroll for a NBA-Accredited Engineering College!
Here's why you must enroll for a NBA-Accredited Engineering College!
Here's why you must enroll for a NBA-Accredited Engineering College!

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Harsha Raj Gatty

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