NAAC Assessment Mandatory for UP Colleges, says Governor Anandiben Patel

The Governor of Uttar Pradesh and ex-officio chancellor of universities in the state, Anandiben Patel said that assessment by NAAC should be made compulsory for colleges and universities that are more than five years old.

The Governor recently addressed a webinar on improving the quality of NAAC assessment and higher education.

If higher education institutions expect financial assistance from the University Grants Commission (UGC), then they must get assessed by NAAC, she said.

“At the time of COVID-19 pandemic, the responsibility of the state government towards universalizing the quality of higher education has increased,” she said. 

In the circumstances, special attention has to be given to online teaching, the Governor said.

“A clear guideline should be issued by the Ministry of Human Resource Development for affiliation of colleges. The university should be affiliated to a maximum of 300 colleges, while more than a thousand colleges are attached to each university, how can the vice-chancellor control in such a situation,” she said.

At present, no university has 100 percent of teachers. This is something the Department of Higher Education should seriously consider, she said.

The Governor also said that the selection of the Principal Educational Administrators such as Vice-Chancellor, Registrar, Finance Officer and Controller of Examinations should be transparent.

“For selection, the State Government and the University must follow the instructions of the University Grants Commission. The term of the Vice-Chancellor should be for five years. There should be a provision to continuously update the curriculum in three to four years,” said Patel.

The Governor also suggested that every university should have an Industry-Academic Cell to engage with the industry, which should work to involve teachers and students in industry processes.

Currently, out of the 20 state universities, six have been accredited by NAAC, with none having an ‘A’ grade. Similarly, out of 159 state colleges, only 29 have been accredited. Of them, none have an ‘A’ grade.