The Colombo Plan Staff College, in its pursuit towards excellence in achieving quality-assured TVET systems in the region, launched the special program about accreditation and certification in TVET in India from February 7-11, 2022. The 5-day training was delivered online through Zoom and was pursued in partnership with the National Institute of Technical Teachers Training and Research (NITTTR), Kolkata. A total of 13 instructors and TVET practitioners participated in the program.

The program is a training workshop to provide capacity building in recognizing the difference between institutional accreditation and program accreditation requirements. Some group work activities also equipped the participants with a deeper understanding and appreciation of the importance and benefits of quality assurance towards drawing up an accreditation system.

The program was supervised by Prof. G.L.D. Wickramasinghe, CPSC Director General, and Prof. Debi Prasad Mishra, Director of NITTTR Kolkata. Program coordination and resources were facilitated by Ms. Therese Tan Lee, an International TVET Consultant and former CPSC Faculty Specialist. Local coordination and arrangements were done by Dr. Rayapati Subbarao, Associate Professor in Mechanical Engineering Department at NITTTR Kolkata. In addition, other APACC-related lectures were delivered by Mrs. Adrienne Abril-Nonan, Officer of APACC.

Prof. G.L.D. Wickramasinghe, CPSC Director General (left/top) and Prof. Debi Prasad Mishra, NITTTR Kolkata Director General (right/bottom) during the opening ceremony

The opening ceremony was graced by the officials of CPSC and NITTTR, with the addition of the Director of the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Jamshedpu, Prof. Karunesh Kumar Shukla, who was invited as the chief guest of the ceremony. In his speech, he cited the need for Indian institutions to achieve international recognition and long-term economic development. He also shared his insights about educational excellence and experience in running his institution with the hopes of inspiring the participants.

Prof. Karunesh Shukla, Director of NIT Jamshedpur, delivering his welcome remarks during the opening ceremony

Topics delivered during the 5-day training covered the following: an overview of TVET quality assurance system, program accreditation criteria and the teaching-learning processes, institutional Accreditation as Quality Assurance, course-wise and program-wise outcomes, APACC Accreditation as External Quality Assurance, the role of the Skills National Assessment and Certification System as quality assurance and establishing the quality assurance System in TVET Institutes.

In addition, a virtual tour of the Puerto Princesa School of Arts and Trades (PPSAT) in the Philippines, which is presently a Gold-level institution under APACC, was embarked. The virtual visit was organized to provide the participants a glimpse of an APACC-accredited institution with the hopes of applying these good practices for the development of their respective institutions.

Ms. Lorizza Mae Gacott (left), Focal Person for Research and Development of PPSAT-Philippines, entertaining the question of a participant during the virtual tour.

Ms. Therese Lee (left) addressing the comment of the participant.

The program held its closing ceremony on February 11, 2022 to which all participants were invited. The chief guest during the event is Prof. Manjo Kumar Tiwari, the Director of the National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE), in Mumbai India. In his address, he expressed his congratulations to the participants and lauded their efforts to participate in the training. He also reiterated the importance of institutional accreditation in India and he hopes that more Indian institutions will subscribe to this exercise in the future.

Group picture of the participants