PUNE: Maharashtra has topped the list of colleges and universities that have undertaken the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) evaluation.
Thirty-five universities and 1,922 colleges in Maharashtra entered the NAAC cycle followed by Karnataka with 1,028 educational institutions including 27 universities that have been part of NAAC.
Director of higher and technical education Shailendra Deolankar said that the state has undertaken strict action against institutions that fail to undergo the NAAC cycle which resulted in higher participation.
NAAC conducts assessment and accreditation of Higher Educational Institutions such as colleges, universities or other recognised institutions to derive an understanding of the quality status of the institution.
Deolankar said they have been following up with institutions on a regular basis for NAAC evaluation. The department has also warned the educational institutions that their admission process could be stopped or affiliation could be withheld if they do not start the NAAC process.
"As a result of these strict measures, we are seeing an increasing number of institutions entering the NAAC system from Maharashtra," he added.
NAAC evaluates the institutions for its conformance to the standards of quality in terms of its performance related to the educational processes and outcomes, curriculum coverage, teaching-learning processes, faculty, research, infrastructure, learning resources, organisation, governance, financial well being and student services.
Deolankar said that, despite these measures, many institutions have not participated in the NAAC process. "The rank of an educational institution is determined by the NAAC assessment category. However, as the evaluation process is complicated and time consuming, many colleges in the state have ignored the NAAC evaluation despite sending repeated letters," he added.
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