PurposeThe main purpose of this study is to revisit Ishikawa's statement: “95% of problems in processes can be accomplished using the original 7 Quality Control (QC) tools”. The paper critically investigates the validity of this statement in higher education institutions (HEIs). It involves analysis of the usage of the 7 QC tools and identifying the barriers, benefits, challenges and critical success factors (CSFs) for the application of the 7 QC tools in a HEI setting.Design/methodology/approachAn online survey instrument was developed, and as this is a global study, survey participants were contacted via social networks such as LinkedIn. Target respondents were HEIs educators or professionals who are knowledgeable about the 7 QC tools promulgated by Dr Ishikawa. Professionals who work in administrative sectors, such as libraries, information technology and human resources were included in the study. A number of academics who teach the 7 basic tools of QC were also included in the study. The survey link was sent to over 200 educators and professionals and 76 complete responses were obtained.FindingsThe primary finding of this study shows that the diffusion of seven QC tools is not widespread in the context of HEIs. Less than 8% of the respondents believe that more than 90% of process problems can be solved by applying the 7 QC tools. These numbers show that modern-quality problems may need more than the 7 basic QC basic tools and there may be a need to revisit the role and contribution of these tools to solve problems in the higher education sector. Tools such as Pareto chart and cause and effect diagram have been widely used in the context of HEIs. The most important barriers highlighted are related to the lack of knowledge about the benefits and about how and when to apply these tools. Among the challenges are the “lack of knowledge of the tools and their applications” and “lack of training in the use of the tools”. The main benefits mentioned by the respondents were “the identification of areas for improvement, problem definition, measurement, and analysis”. According to this study, the most important factors critical for the success of the initiative were “management support”, “widespread training” and “having a continuous improvement program in place”.Research limitations/implicationsThe exploratory study provides an initial understanding about the 7 QC tools application in HEIs, and their benefits, challenges and critical success factors, which can act as guidelines for implementation in HEIs. Surveys alone cannot provide deeper insights into the status of the application of 7 QC tools in HEIs, and therefore qualitative studies in the form of semi-structured interviews should be carried out in the future.Originality/valueThis article contributes with an exploratory empirical study on the extent of the use of 7 QC tools in the university processes. The authors claim that this is the first empirical study looking into the use of the 7 QC tools in the university sector.

Right to food is a Human Right, protecting the right for people to feed themselves in dignity, implying that sufficient food is available and people have means to it, access to it, and it meets the individual's dietary needs (United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, 1948). To ensure the availability of food to all, various schemes like Targeted Public Distribution Scheme which focuses on Below Poverty Line families, Antyodaya Anna Yojana for the poorest of poor, Annapurna Scheme targeted towards citizens of the age of 65 and above are being run by the Government of India. Besides these The Mid Day Meal Programme, a Nutrition Programme which is focussed to attract more children to Schools and improve their nutritional status are also being executed by the Government of India. The present study was undertaken on a random sample of 30 subjects from both Below Poverty line and Above Poverty Line families of Ajmer city, to find the awareness in people about the Right to Food and Food Security Schemes. Information regarding the success of Mid Day Meal Programme was obtained by a survey done in 10 Schools of Ajmer. To conduct the research, a Questionnaire was framed with questions related to awareness regarding the Right to Food and Food Security Schemes. The questions also included those related to income, interval of buying ration, palatability of Food Grains. The results revealed that 63 per cent of the people were aware of the Right to Food as their basic right while the remaining 36 per cent were unaware. The Targeted Public Distribution Scheme was very popular amongst people. This can be said as 90 per cent of the subjects were aware of it and many were availing its benefits. The Antyodaya Anna Yojana was relatively less popular and only about 60 per cent of the subjects knew of such a Scheme being executed by the Government of India. Almost similar is the case with the Annapurna Scheme as only a percentage of 40 per cent reflected any awareness in reference to it. The National Food Security Act is the least popular and in the study, a mere 30 per cent subjects answered positively towards it.Concerning the Mid Day Meal Scheme, the study revealed that it provided adequate nutrition to children of classes 1 to 5, but was found to be inadequate in terms of nutritive value (calories)for chlidren of classes VI toVIII.The meals provided did not meet the hygiene standards too.

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