PUNE: Maharashtra, which has always been a progressive State in education and social reforms, has kept its tradition alive, according to recent data released by National Accreditation and Assessment Council (NAAC).
With 1,571 educational institutes including 32 universities and 1,539 colleges under Directorate of Higher Education (DHE) and Directorate of Technical Education (DTE), Maharashtra stands highest in number of educational institutes to have NAAC certification in the country. The latest updates were uploaded on November 30, 2018 on the NAAC website.
Karnataka, with a total of 827 such institutes including colleges and 27 universities and Tamil Nadu with a total of 799 institutes including colleges and 42 universities stand second and third in the rank of completion of NAAC accreditation respectively.
DHE officials said even in 2017, Maharashtra was leading with highest number of NAAC certified colleges with 1,277 colleges and 31 universities.
According to recent data accessed by Sakal Times, around 1,211 colleges in the State have successfully undergone NAAC assessment for first cycle. 821 colleges underwent second cycle, 264 took NAAC for third time and only two were called for NAAC fourth time.
This time, the assessment criteria included student and public perception about the college. The colleges have to provide details of students whom the committee contacts for feedback procedures, stated a DHE official.
“It is a good sign that more and more colleges from Maharashtra are coming forward to take NAAC certification. It shows that Maharashtra has better infrastructure for quality education compared to other states,” said Sukhdeo Thorat, former UGC chairman.
While most of the accredited colleges are government aided, those lagging are mostly the non-aided ones. Out of 1,741 non-aided colleges, only 149 non-aided colleges are NAAC accredited, making a huge difference of 1,598. DHE officials stated that the reason for huge difference is due to lack of infrastructure, shortage of staff or students. As colleges are self-funded it is difficult for them to afford NAAC fee.
“If non-aided colleges are not calling for NAAC certification, then the State government should play a role in pushing them to take assessments and helping them build infrastructure according to NAAC requirements,” Thorat said.
"Although they are self-funded colleges, the government still stands as a regulatory body,” he said.
“Shortage of teaching faculty impacts negatively, as one of the eligibility criteria is number of teachers in colleges. With ban on appointment of teachers, many colleges were unable to go through NAAC process. However, now that the ban has been lifted, it will improve the condition and enable more colleges to come forward,” he added.
