Patna University eyes NAAC accreditation

PATNA: Patna University (PU) has started making necessary preparations to secure National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) accreditation. The university is likely to upload its self-study report (SSR) on NAAC’s website in May.
Getting NAAC accreditation has become the prime concern of PU these days as the courses offered by four of its institutions – Directorate of Distance Education (DDE), Patna Training College, Women’s Training College and Patna Law College – stand derecognized by their respective regulatory bodies.

Addressing a meeting of the conveners and members of all the seven committees dealing with the seven different parameters of NAAC assessment here on Thursday, PU vice-chancellor Rash Bihari Prasad Singh said all the paraphernalia of SSR must be completed by the respective committees by the end of the current month. He asked the heads of different university wings, including postgraduate departments, to furnish all the required information at the earliest. The university will create a database at the centralized level to prepare the SSR. The PU officials and staff have been asked to provide all necessary help and cooperation to the committees in preparation of SSR.

PU is also getting deprived of various grants sanctioned by the UGC under Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) because of its non-accreditation by NAAC. Only NAAC accreditated institutions are now eligible to get development grants under RUSA. Even though some colleges under PU, including Patna Women’s College, Magadh Mahila College and College of Arts and Crafts are accreditated by NAAC, the university itself is yet to get the accreditation.

PU pro-vice-chancellor Dolly Sinha, students’ welfare dean N K Jha, registrar Rabindra Kumar, university engineer Sachin Dayal and heads of different PG departments attended the meeting.

Meanwhile, a meeting of the internal quality assurance cell of Patna Science College was held here on Thursday under the chairmanship of principal Radha Kant Prasad to discuss ways and means for ensuring better grade in its re-accreditation likely to be completed soon. It was decided that all the shortcomings would be removed soon and several innovative measures initiated to ensure the all-round development of this premier institution of science.