Maharashtra has most number of institutes with NAAC tag: Advisor to accreditation body

THANE: Maharashtra has the highest number of NAAC-accredited colleges and universities in the entire country, an indication of the state’s commitment to quality education, said an official associated with the National Assessment and Accreditation Council. Dr Devender Kawday, advisor to NAAC, was speaking to PTI on the sidelines of a programme in Thane on Saturday.

NAAC is an autonomous institution of the University Grants Commission (UGC) and is responsible for assessing and accrediting higher education institutions based on predetermined quality parameters. Maharashtra has 1,957 NAAC accreditations, including 35 universities, followed by Karnataka with 1,028 institutes with the tag, he said. All other states are below the 1,000 mark, he said. A good number of educational institutes in the south have NAAC accreditations, he said.

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As per the status on May 19, a total of 9,687 institutes, including 9,257 colleges and 430 universities, were given the NAAC tag in the first cycle. Of these, 2,155 were graded A, 6,370 as B and 1,162 As C, he said. In the second cycle, 240 universities and 4,235 colleges have been accredited, while in the third cycle, 118 universities and 1,713 colleges were graded, he said. In the fourth, it was 32 universities and 295 colleges. Only one college was accredited in the fifth cycle, he said.

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NAAC grading will continue with updates from time to time and the institutes have to put in a lot of effort to get the gradation and maintain it, he said. The high number of NAAC-accredited colleges and universities in Maharashtra showcases the state’s commitment to quality education, he said, adding that India’s economic growth is closely linked to the development of the higher education system.