Chandrakant Patil, the Minister of Higher and Technical Education in Maharashtra, has expressed concern over colleges’ apparent lack of commitment to quality and infrastructure assessments conducted by the National Accreditation and Assessment Council (NAAC). In response to this issue, he has rebuked these institutions and questioned the validity of their affiliations.
During a meeting held on Friday with vice-chancellors and registrars from four universities, Minister Patil called upon them to publicly disclose the names of institutions that have not obtained NAAC grades on their respective websites. Additionally, Patil reviewed the actions taken by non-agricultural public universities in the state regarding the potential de-affiliation of colleges that have failed to undergo NAAC assessments.
Patil cautioned that colleges failing to complete the NAAC assessment process within the specified timeframe would face consequences. These consequences could include a halt on admitting new students, reductions in seat availability, and the cancellation of examination centers.
Despite ongoing 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 anonymously, stated, “The education minister has instructed officials to provide 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). He suggested that the technical education department should take necessary actions in this regard.
The meeting saw the participation 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)
