HYDERABAD: In its centenary year, Osmania University has got another reason to celebrate as it received A+ grade from the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) on Tuesday.
The varsity was assessed and accredited with the second highest grade and a CGPA of 3.52 out of 4 in the third cycle. OU is the only institution from the state to have got the coveted grading.The nine-member NAAC team had been on the visit to the university on August 17,18 and 19 and assessed it on seven parameters. It was in 2008 that the varsity was last assessed and the accreditation was valid till 2013. For the last four years, it did not get any rating.
Expressing his happiness over the results, registrar Gopal Reddy lauded the efforts of the staff members. “However, we need to recruit more teaching and non-teaching staff. The focus will also be on increasing research output. The improvement of infrastructure is another area we have to deal with,” he said.With nearly 25 per cent of the teaching posts vacant in OU, the NAAC team too had pointed that there was a need to recruit more staff.
KU and JNTU-H get A
Meanwhile, Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University-Hyderabad (JNTU-H) has been accredited with A grade. With JNTU-H College of Engineering not being considered for the assessment, the management said that it was a great feat to get the grade.“This grade is only on the basis of the three PG centres that we have. It is a major relief. We are now thinking of how to get the constituent college into the ambit of assessment rules. But we are happy with this grade for the next 5 years,” said N Yadaiah, registrar, JNTU-H. Kakatiya University too received an A grade with a CGPA of 3.36. Meanwhile, several state universities like Telangana University, Palamuru University, and Telugu University have not yet been graded by NAAC.
TS vs AP
While Andhra has two varsities with A+ grade, Gandhi Institute of Technology and Management (GITAM) and Sri Venkateswara University (SVU), OU has joined the elite club and the third varsity from the two Telugu states to get the grade.