Maharashtra Higher Education Minister Warns Colleges Over NAAC Assessment Lapses
Pune, 11th September 2023: Chandrakant Patil, the Minister of Higher and Technical Education for the state, expressed dissatisfaction with colleges’ lack of commitment to quality and infrastructure assessments by the National Accreditation and Assessment Council (NAAC). In response, he reprimanded these institutions, questioning the justification for maintaining their affiliations.
During a meeting held on Friday with vice-chancellors and registrars from four universities, Minister Patil urged them to publicly list institutions lacking NAAC grades on their respective websites. Furthermore, Patil reviewed the actions taken by non-agricultural public universities in the state concerning the potential de-affiliation of colleges that had failed to undergo NAAC assessments.
Patil cautioned that colleges failing to complete the NAAC assessment process within the stipulated timeframe would face consequences, including a halt on admitting new students, reductions in seat availability, and the cancellation of examination centers.
Despite persistent efforts by the higher education department and universities to encourage NAAC assessments and re-evaluations, many colleges have displayed reluctance.
A senior education department official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, stated, “The education minister has instructed officials to furnish him with a list of such colleges. He has also directed university authorities to publish a list of colleges that have not undergone evaluation despite receiving certificates.”
Patil emphasized the need for universities to regularly update and publish information, including the names and details of colleges registered for NAAC rankings, graded and ungraded institutions, on their websites. He further stressed that ungraded colleges should be notified to initiate the assessment process.
Vikas Chandra Rastogi, Principal Secretary of the Higher and Technical Education Department, highlighted the importance of evaluating institutions offering degree education in technical and pharmaceutical fields through the National Accreditation Board (NBA), suggesting that the technical education department should take necessary actions in this regard.
The meeting witnessed the presence of key figures, including Dr. Vinod Mohitkar, Director of Technical Education, Dr. Shailendra Devlankar, Director of Higher Education, and vice-chancellors from prominent universities in the state.
Key Statistics:
Aided colleges: 1,177
Colleges assessed by NAAC: 1,113
Unaided colleges: 2,141
Unaided colleges with NAAC assessment: 257
Total government colleges: 28
NAAC-assessed government colleges: 24
‘A,’ ‘A+,’ ‘A++’ NAAC-graded colleges: 202
(Source: Directorate of Higher Education)
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