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The National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) faces reform proposals after bribery allegations.

About the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC)

It is an autonomous body established in 1994 under the University Grants Commission (UGC).

Its primary role is to evaluate and accredit higher education institutions (HEIs) based on their performance across various parameters such as infrastructure, teaching quality, governance, and research.

Accreditation is mandatory for HEIs after six years of operation or after two batches have graduated, as per UGC regulations. It helps students and stakeholders make informed choices about educational institutions.

It grades institutions on an eight-point scale, ranging from A++ (highest) to D (lowest). Institutions with higher grades, such as A or A++, gain benefits like eligibility for autonomy and access to UGC funding.

NAAC accreditation process

The institution submits a detailed report highlighting its achievements, infrastructure, and practices.
NAAC conducts a survey to gather feedback from students about the institution.
A team of experts visits the institution to verify the submitted data and assess its performance.

The process results in a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA), which corresponds to a grade ranging from A++ to D. Accreditation is valid for five years (or seven years for institutions with an A grade or higher).

Recent allegations against the NAAC grading process

Recent allegations against the NAAC grading process include malpractices such as bribery and manipulation of peer team selections.

In a recent case, the CBI arrested ten individuals, including NAAC inspection team members and officials of Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation (KLEF), for allegedly seeking a favorable NAAC rating through bribes.

This raises concerns about the integrity of the accreditation process.

What issues have been raised about the NAAC accreditation process?

A 2022 committee report highlighted that NAAC uses a small pool of experts for peer team visits, with only 20-30% of assessors being utilized.

The selection process for peer team members has been criticized for being neither random nor sequential, raising concerns about bias.

The committee recommended reforms in the IT infrastructure to address potential challenges to data integrity.

Former NAAC chairperson resigned in 2023, mentioning concerns about malpractices, vested interests, and the manipulation of grades.

What changes have been proposed to the NAAC grading system?

Binary Accreditation: The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 recommends transitioning to a binary accreditation system, where institutions are classified as “accredited,” “awaiting accreditation,” or “not accredited.

Maturity-Based Graded Accreditation: Accredited institutions will be encouraged to progress through levels (1 to 5), with Level 5 representing “Institutions of Global Excellence for Multi-Disciplinary Research and Education.”

Stakeholder Feedback: The process will incorporate stakeholder-crowdsourcing, gathering feedback from faculty, students, alumni, and parents to validate institutional data.

Reduced Dependence on Physical Visits: The new system aims to minimize physical visits by expert teams, relying more on digital validation and stakeholder input.