Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya (DAV), which flaunts its Grade A+ accreditation, actually does nothing to ensure that colleges under its wings also go for accreditation from the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC).
According to a Free Press Investigation, merely 18 out of 220 colleges (B.Ed colleges excluded) under DAVV, which are eligible for accreditation from the NAAC, actually have accreditation from the national agency. This is the situation despite the fact that NAAC accreditation is a must and it is linked to affiliation conditions.
Out of the 18 colleges, seven colleges have been accredited with C grade, which is the lowest grading by the NAAC, a statutory body of the University Grants Commission. While four colleges have B grade—the second-lowest rating in the grading table, four other colleges have B+ grade and two colleges each with B++ grade, and one with A++ grade. There is no college which has A or A+ accreditation.
The further investigation revealed that, out of a total accredited colleges under DAVV, 14 are government colleges and four are private colleges.
Retired registrar RD Muslagaonkar said that the colleges do not go for assessment by the NAAC for fear of getting a poor grade which would take a toll on their admissions. “Plus, NAAC accreditation will also expose their standards,” he said. “Until there’s action against unaccredited colleges, accreditation will remain in the backseat,” he said.
DAVV, which has the responsibility to improve the quality of education in affiliated colleges, turns a blind eye to this issue. The university is letting colleges and universities in the state continue to operate without NAAC accreditation even when obtaining it is mandatory.
The NAAC is an autonomous body of the University Grants Commission which accredits higher education institutions in the country and forms an accreditation framework designed to promote transparency in the assessment process. In 2012, Parliament had passed a resolution making NAAC accreditation mandatory for all institutions of higher learning.
Seven different criteria
The NAAC assesses standards of institutions of higher learning and, accordingly, accredits them on seven different criteria, namely Curricular Aspects; Teaching-Learning and Evaluation; Research, Consultancy and Extension; Infrastructure and Learning Resources; Student Support and Progression; Governance, Leadership and Management and Innovations and Best Practices.
For the NAAC, these seven criteria represent the core functions and activities of an institution and broadly focus on the issues which have a direct impact on teaching learning, research, community development and holistic development of students. On the basis of its assessment, the NAAC awards ‘letter grade’ on a scale of 4.
Will link accreditation to affiliation: DAVV
The university, which should act tough against unaccredited colleges, takes a soft stand and grants them a grace period. Director of the college development council at DAVV Dr Rajeev Dixit said that they would link NAAC accreditation to affiliation in two to three years. ‘We’ve already linked the All-India Survey for Higher Education (AISHE) to affiliation. NAAC accreditation will also be linked to affiliation, but that will take some time,’ he added. Dixit said that they would first offer help to colleges in getting good grades from the NAAC. ‘We’ll provide consultancy to colleges in obtaining good grades. That’ll be a win-win situation for both the university and the colleges. The colleges will get a good grade and the university will get consultancy fees from these colleges,’ he said.
Total Accredited Colleges under DAVV
Grade - No of Colleges
A++ - 1
A+ - 0
A - 0
B++ - 2
B+ - 4
B - 4
C - 7
NAAC Grading System
CGPA of institute - Letter Grade
3.51-4.00 - A++
3.26-3.50 - A+
3.01-3.25 - A
2.76-3.00 - B++
2.51-2.75 - B+
2.01-2.50 - B
1.51-2.00 - C
≤ 1.50 - No Accreditation
