The University Grants Commission (UGC) has formulated the National Higher Education Qualifications Framework (NHEQF) with the aim to facilitate transparency and comparability of higher education qualifications at all levels. The framework has been issued for all educational institutes to adopt.
The purpose of the framework to recognize and accredit qualifications offered by different types of institutions engaged in higher education, including vocational education and training, and technical/professional education in India as envisaged in the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. It also aims to provide points of reference when setting and assessing academic standards, designing curricula, teaching-learning-assessment strategies, and periodic review of programmes.
The NHEQF is an instrument for the development, classification, and recognition of qualifications along a continuum of levels from 4.5 to eight, with levels one to four in school education. Each level is structured based on the defined learning outcomes, that is, statements of what the learner is expected to know, understand, and/or be able to do on the successful completion of an approved programme of study/learning at a specified level.
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Students on completion of the chosen programme(s) of study under the NHEQF are expected to possess and demonstrate the graduate attributes defined in terms of the expected learning outcomes. The framework will guide quality assurance arrangements for education and training offered by higher education in India. It will also maintain national standards and international comparability of learning outcomes to ensure global competitiveness, and to facilitate student mobility.