Indore: Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya (DAVV), which was awarded ‘A’ accreditation by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) in 2014, is aiming big this time. It has set for itself a target of ‘A++ grade’ which is not easy to achieve. And the university is well aware of this fact. “Getting A++ accreditation from NAAC is not easy task. We know that. But we also know that it is not impossible to achieve. If one university from Madhya Pradesh which deserves A++ accreditation that is DAVV and we will try to bag it,” said Vice Chancellor Dr Narendra Dhakad.
Owing to its quality, advanced teaching and research work, the DAVV is regarded as a leading traditional university of the State. And because of that tag, it holds the responsibility of performing well at the national level and clinch top ratings. The state government is also counting on DAVV and is ready to pump in hefty funds in it so that its potential of figuring into goal map could be harnessed. “We know that a lot is expected from us. And we will try to live up to the expectations,” said Dhakad adding that they have launched ‘Mission A++’. “The whole university will be mobilised towards this mission. Under this mission, infrastructure would be modernised, research enhancement will be done and advanced teaching methods and best practices will be adopted,” he said. “We will also improve campus placements. Our target is to take average campus placements from the existing 50 to 75 percent,” he added.
Dhakad has handpicked a team of 15 teachers and officers who would be roped into the above-mentioned tasks so that standard of the university could be raised before NAAC’s peer team’s visit to the campuses. NAAC team visit is scheduled for November next year. Based on its inspection, the team will submit its report which is base for re-accreditation of the DAVV.
VC and his special 15
1. Ajay Verma: Being in-charge registrar, his work will be to ensure that administrative set-up is modernised and infrastructure projects are completed on time.
2. Ganesh Kawadia: He will be the key strategist. University will take advantage of his experience. All important NAAC related works will be coordinated by him. He would have power to convene meetings of university teachers and officers for NAAC related works, whenever necessary.
3. Akhilesh Singh: He will be responsible for identifying strengths and weakness of the teaching departments and help HoDs to removing shortcomings and prepare NAAC presentations. He will conduct mock visits at the departments.
4. Anil Kumar: He will be one of the main strategy planners. His area of focus will to monitor research and consultancy works done so far.
5. VB Gupta: His work will be to document all the activities conducted by the university since 2014. He will also make sure that entire PhD data is centralised.
6. Chandan Gupta: He will also help in documentation of DAVV works. Being a good communicator, Gupta will be key member of the committee which will communicate with NAAC officials.
7. Prof Ashesh Tiwari: He is exam controller. He will be empowered to take whatever examination reforms he finds fit.
8. LK Tripathi: He is dean student welfare. He will be responsible for student progression. He will take feedback from students time to time.
9. Ashok Kumar: We would play a crucial role of coordinator among heads of teaching departments. He is among the V- C’s most trust-worthy people.
10. Sumant Katiyal: He is director of college development council. His work will be to prepare presentations on affiliated colleges, appointment rules and affiliation process adopted at DAVV.
11. Vrinda Tokekar: She will have important work of implementing automation project ahead of NAAC team’s visit.
12. SP Singh: He will be tasked with making the campus eco-friendly with taking steps to reduce carbon footprints.
13. Prajwal Khare: He will be responsible for maintenance of RNT Marg campus. He will also be part of inspection team which will conduct mock drills at teaching departments.
14. Rajendra Singh. He is in-charge of evaluation centre. He will be tasked with the work of integrating technology into evaluation of answer books. He will ensure that the same is done before NAAC inspection.
15. Rajnish Jain: His work will be to make all entrance tests online and help in enhancement of library.
Can Dhakad do what Singh did?
When DP Singh, who is director of NAAC, was vice chancellor of DAVV it had clinched ‘A’ accreditation in 2014. At that time, A accreditation was the highest grade. But last year, the grading pattern changed. Now, the highest grade is A++ which is awarded to an institution scoring above 3.76 on the scale of 4. In 2008, the DAVV had scored 2.58 marks and got B grade. At the time of Singh, DAVV had scored 3.09. Can DAVV improve the score and take it to 3.76 marks. Some believe that the university score could drop.
