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TS varsities lack NAAC grade
The cash-starved state universities which do not have grading of the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) will not get funds from the Central government. The Centre has made mandatory for the state universities and colleges to get an accreditation from the NAAC to avail the funds under Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA).
Tough time ahead for cash-starved varsities
Hyderabad: The cash-starved state universities which do not have grading of the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) will not get funds from the Central government. The Centre has made mandatory for the state universities and colleges to get an accreditation from the NAAC to avail the funds under Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA).
Going by the present situation in Telangana, no state university has got a grade from the council. Higher education officials, who recently presented the proposals before the Central government in a meeting in New Delhi, said it was a big setback for the state universities as none of them has accreditation from the NAAC. “We told the Central government that two universities (Osmania and Kakatiya) have already received their letter of intent from NAAC and inspection is due.
However, they insisted for NAAC accreditation before getting funds,” said an official who attended the meeting. The officials of higher education said that the Central government was ready to release Rs 112 crore for universities if they get a grade. Varsities without grade Osmania University (OU), the oldest and largest University in Telangana has been without a grade for more than a year and so is the case with the Kakatiya University (KU), Telangana University, Mahatma Gandhi, Palamuru, Telugu Universities.
After much delay, the OU and KU have applied for grading and received letter of intent from NAAC about five months back. However, inspection by the NAAC team is due still. “Major problem in the universities is absence of full-time vice-chancellors. The NAAC team will not visit universities for the inspection for grading if regular vice-chancellors are not available. The government is not bothered about appointing VCs,” said Prof. Battu Satyanarayana, chairman, Telangana State Federation of Universities Teachers Association.
“Besides, summer vacation for the universities will begin in a couple of weeks. When NAAC team visits the universities, it needs to talk to students, but students will be on vacation. The grading will be further delayed and it will be a huge loss to the universities,” said Prof. Satyanarayana. Worst is the case with the Satavahana University. So far it has not even received 12 (B) status from the University Grants Commission which is mandatory for the universities to receive funds from the UGC.
No nodal officer for RUSA Irony is that even after seven months of creation of Telangana State Council of Higher Education, the government is yet to appoint a nodal officer for RUSA scheme. “As per the scheme, vice-chairman of higher education council will be the nodal officer. A file has been sent to the higher education secretary and pending for the last couple of months even after repeated requests,” an official of TSCHE lamented.
By:Yuvraj Akula
