Key varsities among 16 sans NAAC accreditation in Karnataka

A whopping 16 state-run universities in Karnataka, out of the total 28, have not received accreditation from the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC).

Some of the universities established as far back as the 1980s have also not received accreditation.

A few of them set up post-2010 are not eligible to apply as they don’t meet the NAAC accreditation criteria, while the accreditation process of others has been hit by the pandemic.

Though it is mandatory from 2013 for all higher education institutions in the country to get accreditation from NAAC, some of the universities have not yet bothered to apply.

This has raised a basic question about the quality of education in these universities and institutions.

These are the findings of a report released by NAAC titled, ‘NAAC accreditation status and recommendations to improve the quality at government institutions in Karnataka 2020-21’.

Re-accreditation

As explained by officials in the higher education department, of the 16 universities listed in the report, some are in the process of getting accreditation from NAAC and some have applied for re-accreditation as they have completed the five-year duration.

“Even if the accreditation process is underway, NAAC will consider the institution as non-accredited,” said an official.

Criteria

Institutions are accredited based on these criteria: teaching, learning, research, curricular aspects, student progression and infrastructure.

KSOU vice-chancellor Prof S Vidyashankar told DH, “The affiliation of the university was lost for three years and we have to fill the gaps before applying for NAAC. We have started the process and we will apply soon.”

VTU vice-chancellor Prof Karisiddappa said all the universities in the state should get accreditation by the end of 2025. A majority of them have started the process, he added.

Pandemic effect

Some of the universities have not applied for re-accreditation due to the fear of getting low grades. “During the pandemic, recruitments and research activities were nearly stalled and the universities are in the fear of scoring low if they apply now,” an official explained.

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