BHUBANESWAR: Higher educational institutions scoring a good National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) grade will be rewarded by the state government. This has been decided at a review meeting of the department chaired by the commissioner-cum-secretary Aravind Agarwal. With the University Grants Commission (UGC) mandating NAAC grades for recognition under Section 12B of the UGC Act and receiving central grants, the department has been nudging degree colleges and universities to opt for NAAC assessment/reassessment. However, the majority of colleges and universities have shied away from the assessment.
According to UGC’s Odisha analysis report of accreditation, among 1,025 degree and 72 PG colleges in Odisha, NAAC has so far accredited a meagre 281 colleges (both autonomous and general). Out of these accredited colleges, 201 had valid accreditation till December 31, 2019. Of them, 177 colleges (88 pc) are government and government-aided, and 24 colleges (12 pc) are unaided and self-financed colleges.
The remaining 81 which are affiliated to various universities, had not opted for re-accreditation. While nine of these colleges are under Berhampur University, 11 are under BPUT, five are under FM University, eight each under Maharaja Bhanja Deo University and Rama Devi Women’s University, 12 are under Sambalpur University and the highest 28 under Utkal University.
Among 20 public universities including technical ones, currently, NAAC reassessment of Utkal and assessment of Sambalpur is underway. While Berhampur, Fakir Mohan and Maharaja Sriram Chandra Bhanja Deo universities were re-accredited within the last one year, grades of BPUT, Rama Devi and Shri Jagannath Sanskrit Vishwavidyalaya have lapsed. The universities are in different stages of applying for re-accreditation.
Higher Education officials said while the Odisha State Higher Education Council is mentoring all institutions to opt for NAAC evaluation, the department has decided to give financial incentives to institutions if they get good NAAC grades. The NAAC project monitoring unit of the department has been directed to prepare guidelines for NAAC visits and all higher education institutions will be asked to follow them.