Context

The National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) is facing allegations of irregularities in the way it operates.

• The chairperson of NAAC’s executive committee, Bhushan Patwardhan, resigned after repeatedly demanding an independent inquiry into the functioning of the council.

National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC):

• NAAC an autonomous body under the University Grants Commission (UGC).
• It assesses and accredits Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). 

• Functions: 

• • NAAC is entrusted with assessing the quality of India’s higher educational institutions. 
  • It awards grades to colleges and universities on the basis of multi layered assessment process
• Parameters of accreditation: 
  • Its parameters include curriculum, faculty, infrastructure, research and financial well-being. 
  • The grades issued by NAAC range from A++ to C. 
  • If an institution is graded D, it means it is not accredited.

Is NAAC’s accreditation mandatory for institutions?

• Though UGC has issued multiple circular and asked all the universities to mandatorily undergo NAAC’s assessment, the process still remains largely voluntary.
•  All higher education institutions must attain the highest level of accreditation during the next 15 years, according to the National Education Policy (2020).
• However, As per AISHE REPORT, only 418 universities and 9,062 colleges out of the 1,113 universities and 43,796 colleges were NAAC-accredited as on January 31, 2023.