NEW DELHI: The move to create a simpler, more transparent accreditation system has led to major delays for higher education institutions across the country. Not a single university or college has received fresh accreditation for the current academic year, which is now nearing completion. This certification from the National Assessment and Accreditation Council plays an important role in how students choose colleges.
Multiple senior education officials confirmed this glaring lacuna in the higher education sector. A senior education official assured that the revamped accreditation process would restart in a couple of months.
Under the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, a new Accreditation Council will supervise agencies across states, rather than the Bengaluru-based National Assessment and Accreditation Council handling the process alone. A senior education official said,
“We had planned on starting the new accreditation system by July 2025 and had announced that in April, too. However, the transition to the new system has taken us much longer than anticipated. Since the framework is being laid for a new system, we want it to be robust. Hence, we have discussed it with more than 5,000 educationists”
“While we had given accreditation for 1,790 HEIs in the 2023-2024 academic year, we received requests for accreditation from 2,300 institutions for 2024-2025. Hence, a decision was taken to complete granting accreditation for them before we offer accreditations under the new system,” the official added.
Another official said, “The CBI inquiry into the corruption allegations against ten NAAC members who were arrested in February 2025 over bribery allegations for granting a favourable A++ accreditation for the Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation at Guntur district in Andhra Pradesh was a major setback for us. This also took up some of our time.”
Prof V N Varghese, former Vice Chancellor of NIEPA, said, “Many private institutions use accreditation as a marketing strategy. In 2014, the UGC had introduced a rule that universities funded by it must have accreditation for the funding to be continued.”
Under the new system, universities will only know whether they are accredited.
‘Less than 20% of the 50,000-odd colleges’
According to data published by NAAC, a total of 509 universities and 7,783 colleges across the country have been accredited as of August 14, 2025. Additionally, 290 autonomous colleges have been granted them. This translates to less than 20% of the 50,000-odd colleges and roughly 40% of the 1,170 universities across the country.