A section of teaching fraternity has suggested that government undertakings like Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) and the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) should audit energy efficiency and environment care in educational institutions as part of the documentation required to obtain the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) ranking, as stated in a report by The New Indian Express.
According to sources, several colleges are engaging private firms for the purpose and obtaining favourable reports. An assistant professor from a private arts and science college on Avinashi Road said, "Under criterion VII, the NAAC measures an institution's environment, energy and greenery through an audit to ensure institutional values and responsibilities. For this, institutions should audit activities of the environment, energy and greenery every five years. But the audit is done as a formality in many institutions through private firms and NGOs."
Citing her own experience, she said "We approached a private firm for the audit, and it asked Rs 51,300 including GST. They came to the college and only made documentation work for energy, green, and the environment instead of doing any checks. For example, despite the ban on single-use plastics, they were widely used in our college, but the firm ignored the fact and recorded that the ban was being enforced."
The Head of Department in a private arts and science college told The New Indian Express, "The audit is just a formality in many colleges and a few firms are giving audit certificates without holding inspection. To prevent this, NAAC should take steps to audit the institutions through government bodies under the supervision of senior officers. For instance, officers of TANGEDCO should audit energy use. NAAC should also monitor it instead of believing in the documentation submitted by the colleges."
Vice-president of Association of University Teachers, P Thirunavukkarasu, said inspection by government bodies will give credibility to the process. "Bharathiar University allegedly gave more than rupees one lakh to a private firm for recent audits," sources added.
Director, NAAC Ganesan Kannabiran was not available for comment.
