The three-day inspection of Kashmir University by a National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) peer team began on Thursday.
The team will assess the varsity for renewal of its NAAC accreditation that had expired in 2016 and rank it according to its achievements in academics, infrastructure and other parameters such as research and exchange programmes.
On first day of their visit, the two groups of NAAC peer team visited various teaching departments and held interactions with the deans and heads of the departments at Gandhi Bhawan.
The inspection team also visited the examination block and interacted with the controller examination and the other staff members besides directors of the north and south campuses of the university in the control room of the vice-chancellor.
The team will also visit Zakura campus and assess Power Point presentations made by the north and south campus. They will also hold interactions with the students and faculty members of various departments.
Recently, the Kashmir University bagged 53rd position among the universities assessed in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF)-2019. The varsity also bagged an overall ranking of 79 in the list of all universities, IITs and other institutions assessed by the MHRD under NIRF.
“There has been a lot of improvement from past few years and we expect it to get reflected in NAAC accreditation,” a KU official said.
NAAC is an organization that assesses and accredits higher education institutions in India. It was formed after recommendations from National Policy on Education (1986), which laid emphasis on upholding the quality of higher education in India.
An institution accredited by NAAC signifies that it has met certain standards of excellence across its operations. Apart from making educational institution eligible to grants from government of India, there are major benefits for students as well.
NAAC accreditation is renewed after every five years after head of the institution applies for it.
During the last inspection in 2012, KU was given ‘A’ rank by NAAC. The accreditation expired in May 2016.
“This time we are expecting improvement in the NAAC ranking. On the first day, the inspection team was satisfied with the overall development and academic standards of the varsity,” the KU official said.
As per the revised UGC rules, the NAAC accreditation is accomplished in two phases, which includes the self-assessment, wherein the varsity submits the Self Study Report (SSR) to the NAAC.
The SSR involves the 70 percent of the inspection process and in the second phase the NAAC inspection team visits the varsity physically to cross check the SSR.