BHUBANESWAR: The University Grants Commission (UGC) has threatened to stop grants to colleges and universities in the State functioning without a valid National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) grade from April next year.
NAAC grades are based on assessment of teaching standard, infrastructure availability and curriculum of a higher education institution. In 2012, UGC issued Mandatory Assessment and Accreditation of Higher Educational Institution Regulations, which prescribed that all institutions of higher education have to get NAAC accreditation by June 1, 2014.
In a directive to the institutions, Secretary of Higher Education Department Gagan Dhal asked the principals of colleges to send their letter of intention (LoI) to the accreditation agency by October 31 this year after preparing their self-study report and uploading the same to their websites. Further, they have to establish internal quality assurance cells which would look into the issue. “We have been asking these institutions to update their NAAC grades for the last one year. But many of them have not taken the issue seriously. They will not get any fund from either UGC or RUSA unless they undergo assessment by NAAC,” said Dhal.
The department has directed Vice-Chancellors (VCs) of Fakir Mohan, Utkal, Berhampur, Sambalpur, Ravenshaw Universities to get their NAAC grades updated at the earliest.
Apparently, grades of many of the universities except North Odisha University have expired and they are yet to reaccredit themselves. North Odisha University’s NAAC grade ‘B’ is valid till December next year. When UGC asked Odisha-based higher education institutions to finish NAAC formalities by June 1, 2014, none could meet the deadline due to several shortcomings including shortage of teachers and infrastructure.
Of 10 State universities, NAAC grades for Utkal, Sambalpur and Berhampur, have expired in 2007. Ravenshaw University, Fakir Mohan University, Sri Jagannath Sanskrit Vishwavidyalaya and Utkal University of Culture are eligible for assessment, but are yet to apply.