ABSTRACT
This chapter suggests that the promotion of ethical behaviour of players in institutions of higher education requires an appropriate institutional environment. Taking the case of accreditation agencies such as India’s National Accreditation and Assessment Council (NAAC) and the National Board of Accreditation (NBA), sponsored by the central government, this chapter points out how responsible self-organization can provide an alternative to the current ‘control’ orientation practiced by the Indian agencies. The chapter points out the absence of mentoring, arbitrary quantitative benchmarks set by the government organizations that sponsor these agencies, the inattention of the agencies towards the missions pursued by institutions that seek accreditation, the absence of peer-to-peer spirit, and a ‘culture of judgment and arbitrariness’. In developing the above arguments, the chapter traces the origin of accreditation of higher education in the US and Europe and points out that accreditation worldwide is a result of the desire to self-organize and keep away bureaucratic interference by governments in education. Such a spirit is violated by the Indian agencies. The net result has been the contribution of accreditation to bureaucratization and mediocrity of the university system in India.
