Ahmedabad: All the colleges affiliated to Gujarat Technological University (GTU) need to be accredited by the National Board of Accreditation (NBA) or National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) by 2022, said sources in the university. This is mandatory for getting academic autonomy and central government funding. As a step in this direction, the varsity has recently directed all the affiliated colleges to constitute and Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) Committee latest by March 15. The All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) has directed all technical colleges to get NBA or NAAC by 2022, said sources.
There are more than 550 colleges affiliated to GTU, the state’s largest university. A majority of these colleges are yet to get the required accreditation, said sources.
Accreditation from NAAC is a must for several central government schemes, projects, funding under the Rashtriya Uchchatar Shikshan Abhiyan (RUSA), seeking autonomy, and even getting an approval for running courses. While the central and state government have been pushing colleges to seek autonomy with an aim to reduce the burden on larger universities, lack of NAAC accreditation is proving to be a hurdle in the process, according to sources. NAAC is not essential for technical colleges as they are assessed by the National Board of Accreditation. However, NBA does not give grades to colleges. NAAC grades public, private, deemed, state and central colleges and universities.
Courtesy – TOI