The Directorate of Higher education (DHE) has ordered all the nine state universities to begin the de-affiliation process of 1,599 non-aided colleges that haven’t secured a National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) stamp in the last decade.
“We have already directed all colleges, both private, government, aided and non-aided ones, to get accreditation by NAAC. There are a total of 2,909 colleges in the state — 28 are government colleges, 1,172 private aided ones and the remaining 1,709, non-aided. Out of the 1,709 nonaided colleges, only 110 have done their NAAC accreditation in ten years. So, we have written a letter to the nine universities under which these colleges are asking them to start the process of de-affiliating the remaining 1,599 non-aided colleges and send a report to the state government,” Dr Dhanraj Mane, the state director of higher education, told Pune Mirror.
According to DHE’s statistics, these colleges are spread across the ten regions in the state — Amravati, Aurangabad, Jalgaon, Kolhapur, Mumbai, Nagpur, Nanded, Panvel, Pune and Solapur. Dr Vijay Narkhede, the joint director of DHE’s Pune division, shared, “Under our jurisdiction, we have 167 aided colleges form Pune, Nagar and Nashik region, out of which 152 have done the NAAC accreditation. As for the 303 non-aided colleges under the Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU), only 26 have gone through the NAAC process. So, we have asked SPPU to de-affiliate these colleges.”
Speaking about how most non-aided colleges neglect the NAAC process, Dr V B Gaikwad, the director of the board of college and university development, said, “We are taking the initiative to give special training to all non-aided college managements about the NAAC process. If they do not have NAAC accreditation, SPPU will refuse to give permission to start extra divisions or allot funds from the government’s quality improvement scheme. We will send a reminder to all non-aided colleges; either they get into the NAAC fold or face de-affiliation. Till today, only 60 more non-aided colleges have told SPPU thay they have begun the NAAC process.”
But, Dr Nandkumar Nikam, the president of Maharashtra Principals’ Forum, argued, “We know it is mandatory for all colleges to get NAAC accreditation. But, before taking such a strong stand like de-affiliation, the DHE should try to find the reasons behind them not participating in the NAAC process. The state government should recheck the economic and technical problems of non-aided colleges. They are in remote corners and lack enough infrastructure, teaching and non-teaching staff, according to the NAAC committee. The university decides the fee structures of these colleges, which hasn’t been revised in the last ten years. It should be revised on the basis of expenditure. Only then will these non-aided colleges fulfil the NAAC criteria.”
NAAC NUGGETS
♦ There are a total of 2,909 colleges all over the state’s 10 regions (Amravati, Aurangabad, Jalgaon, Kolhapur, Mumbai, Nagpur, Nanded, Panvel, Pune and Solapur)
♦ Out of 28 government colleges, only 23 have gone through the NAAC process
♦ Out of 1,172 privately aided colleges, only 958 have completed the NAAC process
♦ Out of 1,709 non-aided colleges, only 110 are NAAC accredited
♦ Out of 303 non-aided colleges under SPPU (in pic), only 26 have gone through the NAAC process
