NAAC to introduce 7-point grading for colleges from July

Aim is to increase competition among educational institutions

The National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) will start grading educational institutions under seven categories, instead of the present four categories,
this July.

The new measure is aimed at increasing competition among institutions while also accounting for the quality of an increasing number of institutions. 

A highly placed official said the NAAC executive committee has already given ‘in-principle agreement’ to the move and an official notification would be out in another two weeks.
Currently, colleges and institutions are given an A (very good), B (good), C (satisfactory) or D (unsatisfactory) grade depending on their cumulative grade point index (CGPA) they have secured based on seven parameters. For example, colleges with a CGPA between 3.01 to 4 will get Grade A and so on.

In the new system, colleges will be graded based on a seven-point scale namely:  A, A+, A++, B, B+, B++, C and D. While the earlier grading had descriptions such as  'good' and 'very good', the new system will not have any descriptors. There will only be a distinction in the CGPAs.

The official said there is a need for differentiation with the growing number of institutions.
“At the same time, everything is linked to grades these days such as the Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) grants, the UGC grants etc. It is felt that further distinction among the institutions will encourage quality institutions,” he added.

Explaining further, another official said that while there were a number of institutions with an ‘A’ grade, there were others, such as the University of Hyderabad, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Benaras Hindu University and Tata Institute of Social Science that no doubt had an ‘A’ grade, but are a cut above the rest and needed to be further distinguished.
“The new seven categories will be able to capture more diversity in the grading,” the official said.

The change in the grading system comes after nearly 10 years. A similar seven point system had been in function prior to four point grading system.

Bangalore University Registrar K N Ningegowda said the new seven-point grading system is sure to encourage institutions to concentrate on quality.

The university has ‘A’ grade currently.