Over 70 per cent of preparation for the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) recognition has been done, said the University of Mumbai (MU). Over 8,000 students have participated in the student satisfaction survey (SSS) and self-study report (SSR) which is a mandatory report for NAAC ranking, said Ravindra Kulkarni, pro-Vice Chancellor (PVC) of MU.
In December 2019, MU missed the NAAC recognition application process due to an incomplete database. Kulkarni said, "We had submitted the institutional information for quality assessment (IIQA) in December 2019 but, the database was incomplete as the student satisfaction survey was not done."
Kulkarni added, "Now, we have submitted the proposal for NAAC in December 2020. As per NAAC guidelines, we need to conduct internal and external audits every two years. We have completed the internal audit and collected the student-teacher-employer ratio data. Now, we are waiting for Vice-Chancellors (VCs) of other universities to visit for mock inspections and external audit."
NAAC accreditation is a performance indicator for higher educational institutes. It is mandatory for funds from central agencies. A senior official of MU said, "MU was given a ‘Grade A’ score by NAAC in 2012, which expired on April 20, 2017. Since then, MU has failed to apply for re-accreditation. In the absence of a NAAC grade, the university has lost out on grants worth crores of rupees from the centre. The annual national and global rankings of MU have dropped too."
Kulkarni said, "We aim to achieve the NAAC recognition this year as we have completed 70 per cent preparation. Once the SSR is submitted, a peer team from the NAAC committee will visit the university to verify details submitted in the application."
As per the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, every education needs to have an outcome that has streamlined the accreditation process. Kulkarni said, "We have to submit ground-level data and evidence to NAAC. Our students have done geo-tagging of each classroom and submitted photographs as evidence of infrastructure space."
