NAAC accreditation processes long, bureaucratic and cumbersome: Parliamentary panel

New Delhi, Dec 9 (PTI) The current process of accreditation or re-accreditation of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) is "long, bureaucratic and cumbersome", a Parliamentary panel has noted, calling for urgent systemic reforms at the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), saying its credibility must be restored "with utmost urgency".

The Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports, headed by Congress MP Digvijaya Singh, has also flagged a leadership vacuum at the University Grants Commission (UGC) and recommended that a new chairperson should be appointed for the UGC as soon as possible.

"The current process of accreditation or re-accreditation is long and bureaucratic, with five yearly re-accreditation and yearly reports that demand considerable time from university administrators. The process also involves site visits by the accreditation team, which is cumbersome. NAAC's accreditation process for HEIs needs to be streamlined so that the whole process is quick and without unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles," the panel said in its report.

On the overlap between NAAC and rankings, the panel said, "the NAAC's grading of institutions is extraneous. A binary accreditation model… would be simpler to implement, ease the bureaucratic process, and limit the scope for discretion in the NAAC's grading".

Referring to the bribery case involving NAAC, the report said that an investigation is ongoing into a recent case of bribery in the NAAC and recommended that a thorough internal investigation should be initiated in the matter and findings of the investigation may be shared with the committee.

While acknowledging "the revision in the grading of about 200 institutions and the removal of about 900 peer assessors," the panel said the restoration of the NAAC's credibility is of the utmost urgency.

The panel noted that the position of the chairperson, UGC, has been vacant since April 2025 and reminded the government that, according to the National Education Policy.

"Leadership positions shall not remain vacant, but rather an overlapping time period during transitions in leadership shall be the norm." It therefore "recommends that a new chairperson should be appointed for the UGC as soon as possible." The committee has raised concerns over funding shortfalls, low fellowships, infrastructure gaps and prolonged vacancies at the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR), Indian Council of Philosophical Research (ICPR) and Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), warning that present support levels are misaligned with their "critical functions." On ICHR, the panel said "the current budget for the ICHR" remains inadequate and "re-emphasises the need to increase the budget for the Council given the critical functions it conducts." It pointed out that the junior research fellowship "is limited to 80 students across the country" and the stipend of "Rs 17,600… is inadequate given that the UGC's JRF is Rs 37,000 per month." It recommended “an increase in the fellowship amount as well as in the number of students who receive the fellowship." PTI GJS GJS MPL MPL MPL