In a public notice issued to the eligible higher education institutions and universities across the country, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has made it mandatory for them to apply for accreditation from an accrediting agency before June 1, 2014, if they are desirous of getting development funds from academic year 2015-16 onwards.
The notice has been issued after a commission meeting which discussed implementation of the Mandatory Assessment and Accreditation of Higher Education Regulations, 2012. The regulation provides that any institution of higher education will have to compulsorily take accreditation from the designated agencies like National assessment and accreditation council (NAAC) or National Board of Accreditation (NBA) to receive UGC grants. The move is expected to bring the much-needed assessment and transparency in the routine operations of higher educational institutions. Currently, 1,054 colleges and 22 universities from Maharashtra are accredited by the NAAC. The prime mandate of assessment agencies is to assess and accredit institutions of higher learning, universities and colleges or one or more of their units, which is departments, schools, institutions, programmes, etc. The funding is provided by the commission for the developmental activities at the particular institution or university.
