Teachers' union slams Bharathidasan University administration for not getting NAAC re-accreditation
Academicians in Tiruchi have raised concerns over the non-renewal of the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) certification of the Bharathidasan University (BDU), whose validity lapsed in March 2024.
According to a copy of the certificate shared with The Hindu, BDU had obtained A grade with a Cumulative Grade Point Average of 3.32 on a seven point scale, on April 1, 2019. The certificate was valid until March 31, 2024, five years from the date of issue.
It was shocking that no serious effort had been made by the university administration to get re-accreditation by NAAC after it expired in March 2024. . This is a serious lapse,' P. David Livingstone, State president of Tamil Nadu Government Collegiate Teachers' Association (TNGCTA), said in a statement.
NAAC evaluates higher educational institutions on their performance in areas such as educational processes and outcomes, curriculum coverage, teaching-learning processes, faculty, research, infrastructure, learning resources, student services, and financial well-being.
Though it is not linked to the validity of courses offered by institutions, colleges and universities with NAAC accreditation are often eligible for funding from University Grants Commission (UGC).
'The absence of a regular Vice-Chancellor is cited as a reason for not applying for re-accreditation. But this cannot be fully accepted because in the past, the University of Madras and the Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, had obtained re-accreditation during the interim tenure of the V-C committee. The irony is that the university always takes stern action on autonomous colleges when there is a delay in renewing their autonomy status,' Mr. Livingstone added.
The TNGCTA also criticised the former vice-chancellor M. Selvam for neglecting the issue during his extended tenure.
Academicians pointed out that the absence of a NAAC certificate could affect the future of the Centre for Distance and Online Education, which offers around 60 degree and diploma programmes, and was a major source of revenue for the BDU.
When contacted, BDU Vice-Chancellor Committee Member V. Rajesh Kannan, told The Hindu that the varsity was in the process of applying for re-accreditation. 'The Self-Study Report of the university, [used by NAAC to assess institutional performance] has been updated. A few more issues have to be verified from our side before our submission is complete. Though NAAC does not affect the validity of our degrees, it is not ideal for an institution to delay the renewal for too long. We hope to complete submission by the end of June,' he said.
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