In a significant policy reversal, the Maharashtra government has withdrawn its earlier directive that barred hundreds of degree colleges from admitting students for failing to meet National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) mandates.
The decision, which comes as a major relief for both institutions and students, grants a six-month extension to the affected colleges, allowing them time to comply with accreditation and structural requirements, as per a report by The Times of India.
Previously, these colleges were delisted from the state’s centralised admission portal for either not applying for NAAC accreditation or failing to constitute College Development Committees (CDCs), a statutory requirement under the Maharashtra Public Universities Act. The move had sparked widespread concern among students, educators, and college administrations, who feared disruption to the academic calendar and student admissions.
With this rollback, the names of these colleges will now be reinstated on the admission portal, and the admission process will resume.
Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil said the decision was taken "in the academic interest of students, to avoid disruption" and to offer institutions a fair chance to comply with regulatory norms.
In Mumbai alone, 156 colleges had faced exclusion for lacking NAAC accreditation, while another 73 were removed for not establishing CDCs, bringing the total to 229 institutions.
The Yuva Sena’s student senate members had also urged the government to reconsider its stance and lift the ban, added TOI.
Adding to the colleges’ challenges, several principals pointed out that since July 1, 2024, NAAC has not been accepting new applications, owing to back-end system changes linked to the rollout of a new binary accreditation model. This upcoming model will introduce graded, maturity-based tiers of assessment.
The six-month extension now offers a crucial breather to colleges navigating this transition and ensures that student admissions are not caught in regulatory limbo.
