The National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) is gearing up to revamp its accreditation procedure, almost a year after India's accreditation system was criticised for awarding universities with suspicious ease.
The Basic Level Accreditation system, which NAAC plans to formally launch in ten days, will bring thousands of hitherto unaccredited colleges and universities under its purview.
Simultaneously, the Maturity-Based Graded Level accreditation policy will be made public for comment, The Times of India reports.
This new system breaks the climb into tiers, each stacked with parameters that make reaching the summit, Level 4 or 5. According to NAAC Chairman Anil Sahasrabudhe, this is a challenge for even the most seasoned institutions, in contrast to the sweeping grade-awarding of the past.
According to NAAC, the accreditation procedure will be binary. As a result, colleges and universities will be classified as either "accredited" or "still-to-be accredited”. Institutes receiving their first grade will be eligible for basic accreditation, but those with prior accreditation can choose Maturity Based Graded Level accreditation.
The past is quietly being laid to rest as the future unfolds. The former portal will close when approximately 50 institutions that were still awaiting accreditation under the previous administration eventually receive it.
The proposed Maturity-Based Graded Level accreditation policy will be made public by NAAC to motivate accredited institutions to "raise their bar, continuously improve." Later in the year, the maturity-based graded levels will be introduced.
