Professor Rama Mathew, ELT Consultant and former Dean of Education, Delhi University; Shanavas C (IAS), Principal Director of School Education, Nagaland; and Dr Watijungshi, Retd Additional Director and current Board Member of NAAC and AAA at the NAAC Sponsored Two Days National Seminar organised by IQAC, C-Edge College.
Dimapur, January 31 (MExN): NAAC sponsored two-day National seminar in collaboration with The Morung Express on the theme ‘quality sustenance and quality enhancement measures in higher education’ was organised by the Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC), C-Edge College, Dimapur on January 28 and 29.
The seminar was held online due to the pandemic restrictions. The inaugural session was chaired by Lito Zhimomi, Assistant Professor, CEC. Er Moa Aier, President, CEC gave a brief introduction on the theme of the seminar and welcomed the participants.
The keynote speaker, Dr Chubatola Aier, Principal, CEC mentioned that education is the mainspring on which the destiny and quality of a nation and her people rest, and that the need for such deliberations and follow up action cannot be overstated. She mentioned that quality assurance, quality enhancement, and quality sustenance are the pillars on which any educational institution must build itself, and this was the core foundation on which NAAC was established.
She stressed that the focused and crisp description of the graduate attributes as derived by the institution is also a pointer of quality of the institution. She mentioned that taking quality assurance as already granted; institutions and educators must continuously and consistently work towards enhancement and sustenance.
She urged all to be dynamic, always refreshing ourselves, and that each one of us as stakeholders, as facilitators, to be fully committed to quality service. “Let us be producers of a productive generation,” she quoted.
The first technical session based on the sub themes ‘Student Satisfaction Survey (SS) & its impact on quality enhancement, efficient development & delivery of curriculum’ was moderated by Professor Amalesh Bhowal, Dept of Commerce, Assam University, Diphu Campus.
During the session, Lipokmarla and Dr S Victor Anandkumar from Pondicherry University presented the paper titled ‘quality of service delivery of online classes.’ They highlighted through their research survey the various students’ perception and satisfaction level on online course delivery and highlighted their findings to help instructors and educational institutions to evaluate and redesign their online education which they believe will help in meeting the needs of the students and further enhance the learning process.
The paper titled ‘analytical study of quality control issues of online and offline evaluation in the higher education sector in Nagaland’ was delivered by Dr Rosy Tep, Tetso College, Dimapur. She highlighted the quality control issues and the normalcy of effective classroom learning through hybrid mode from the perspective of instructors and learners in academia.
The third paper titled ‘student satisfaction survey and its impact on quality enhancement’ were presented by Duvolu Rhakho and Kaikho Loli, CEC. The presenters based on their survey highlighted the effectiveness and impact of SSS on quality enhancement and offer recommendations to higher educational institution.
Anjan Behera, Tetso College made the presentation on the ‘Metamorphosis of higher education in Nagaland: A case study of Tetso College’s response to the pandemic.’ He highlighted on the problems encountered by students and teachers during online mode and the ways to overcome it.
The first day ended with a plenary lecture by Professor Rama Mathew, ELT Consultant and former Dean of Education, Delhi University on the topic “what is quality in higher education and how do we sustain it and how do we improve it?.”
The speaker highlighted on some key issues in two areas, quality teaching and quality learning and how educators can keep track of their work in educating the younger generation and in the process educate themselves too. She discussed how the process of learning can be fun and exciting to both parties apart from being useful. The session concluded with an interaction between the speaker and the participants.
On day two, the second technical session was based on “gender, linguistic issues and human resource management in higher education system” moderated by Dr Hormila G Zingkhai, Assistant Professor, St Joseph’s Autonomous College Jakhama.
Wapangsenla Imchen, Assistant Professor, ICFAI University Nagaland presented on ‘faculty training and development & human resource accounting: A study of HEIs in Nagaland.’ Based on her descriptive survey, she highlighted that there is no significant relationship between training and development and human resource accounting of HEIs in Nagaland and concluded that faculty members participation in training and development programs does not significantly impact human resource accounting.
The paper on ‘gender inequality in access to higher education in India’ was delivered by Dr Biswajit Paul and Dr Manash Das, Karimganj College, Assam. They highlighted on the causes of gender inequality in higher education and also on the different programs promoting women education in India.
Another paper titled ‘impact of patriarchal society and gender inequality in higher education’ was presented by Dr Sita Malakar, Assistant Professor, St John College, Dimapur. They highlighted on the impact of patriarchal society and gender disparity in India's Higher Education sector.
The paper on ‘Challenges of Academic Leadership in Nagaland: A Growing Imperative in Higher Education System’ was delivered by Dr Mhonthung Yanthan, Assistant Professor, St Joseph’s College (Autonomous), Jakhama. He highlighted on both conceptual and practical advice to academic leaders of Nagaland in meeting the challenges of changing expectation of their stakeholders, amidst an increasing competitive landscape in higher education.
The second day continued with the third technical session on ‘ethics & values in higher education system and life skill education, skills development, personality development’ moderated by Dr Praveen Patrick, Assistant Professor, St Joseph University Nagaland. The paper titled ‘ethics and values in higher education system’ was delivered by Dipali Kirtani, PGT Teacher of Indira Gandhi Memorial School Kolkata. She highlighted the importance of ethics and values in higher education system and focused on how teachers and educational institutions play a major responsibility for corrective actions.
The paper titled ‘ethics and values in higher education’ was delivered by Neikerheno Secu, Assistant Professor, CEC. She highlighted how higher education can play the role of providing values and ethics for the upcoming generation and how ethics and values can be emphasized in the education system and be a part and parcel of educated young minds.
The paper focused on how both teachers and administrators of institute can work hand in hand with measures of relevance concerning the contemporary society and its effect on young generation.
A special presentation and talk on the topic ‘skills development and personality development’ was delivered by Wapanginla Ao, Academic Dean, CEC where she highlighted the importance of skill development among the younger generation which can curbed the continued economic problems of the state and the country. She stressed on communications skills and entrepreneurial skills as the key components to answer the educated unemployed issue.
In the second Plenary Lecture, Shanavas C (IAS), Principal Director, School Education Department, Nagaland spoke on “Career Oriented Higher Education Systems in Nagaland: Where we are now and the road ahead?” He focused on setting the context, impact of study-vocational misalignment, course corrections and the way forward for higher education.
In his valedictory address Dr Watijungshi, Retd Additional Director, Higher Education Nagaland and currently the Board member of NAAC (National Assessment and Accreditation Council) and AAA (Academic and Administrative Audit) delivered a comprehensive speech based on his observations during his AAA experience of visiting 25 colleges in Nagaland.
Dr Patrick Praveen, Assistant Professor, St Joseph University, Nagaland in the concluding remark pointed out that every process and every participant at the seminar effectively and efficiently delivered and brought forth constructive suggestions and recommendations to provide better quality education to the upcoming generation.
