National Assessment and Accreditation Council

National Assessment and Accreditation Council

NAAC logo
Agency overview
Formed	1994;31 years ago (1994)
Jurisdiction	India
Headquarters	Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Motto	Excellence • Credibility • Relevance
Agency executive	Anil Sahasrabudhe [1] , Director
Parent department	Ministry of Education
Parent agency	UGC
Website	www.naac.gov.in

The National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) is a public autonomous body of the government of India that assesses and accredits higher education institutions (HEIs) in India. It is funded by the University Grants Commission and headquartered in Bengaluru. ^[2]

In February 2025, NAAC assessors were found to be involved in corrupt practices. Recent media reports strongly suggest that universities and institutions have been actively colluding with NAAC in accreditation scams, aiming to manipulate rankings and sway parents' decisions in favor of their institutes and courses. ^[3]

History

NAAC was established in 1994 in response to recommendations of National Policy on Education (1986). This policy was to "address the issues of deterioration in quality of education", and the Programme of Action (POA-1992) laid out strategic plans for the policies including the establishment of an independent national accreditation body. ^{[4] [5]} Consequently, the NAAC was established in 1994 with its headquarters at Bengaluru.

Grading

The NAAC assesses institutes on an eight-grade scale based on the scores of cumulative grade point average (CGPA): ^[6]

Range of institutional CGPA	Letter Grade	Performance Descriptor
3.51 – 4.00	A++	Accredited
3.26 – 3.50	A+
3.01 – 3.25	A
2.76 – 3.00	B++
2.51 – 2.75	B+
2.01 – 2.50	B
1.51 – 2.00	C
≤ 1.50	D	Not Accredited

Accreditations

As of June 2023 ^[update] , 820 universities and 15501 colleges were accredited by NAAC. ^[7] The process of NAAC is done by colleges and universities with the help of internal quality assurance cell.

Results

NAAC published a consolidated list of higher education institutions with valid accreditation as of 11 March 2020. ^[8] The outcome of the recent cycles of accreditation process is tabulated below.

Accredited Universities—Top Ranked

University	State	CGPA	Accreditation Valid up to
Tata Institute of Social Sciences	Maharashtra	3.89	18/02/2023
Lakshmibai National Institute of Physical Education	Madhya Pradesh	3.79	27/03/2022
Institute of Chemical Technology	Maharashtra	3.77	26/11/2022
Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham	Tamil Nadu	3.70	16/08/2028
Indian Institute of Science	Karnataka	3.67	25/09/2023
Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Educational and Research Institute	West Bengal	3.66	27/03/2024
Mumbai University	Maharashtra	3.65	27/03/2024
Alagappa University	Tamil Nadu	3.64	01/05/2024
Banasthali Vidyapith	Rajasthan	3.63	10/03/2022
Jamia Millia Islamia	Delhi	3.61	13/12/2026
Andhra University	Andhra Pradesh	3.6	18/02/2023
Savitribai Phule Pune University	Maharashtra	3.6	21/02/2024
University of Madras	Tamil Nadu	3.59	21/08/2028

Accredited Colleges—Top Ranked

University	State	CGPA	Accreditation valid up to
Government Mohindra College	Punjab	3.86	18/02/2021
B.M.S. College of Engineering	Karnataka	3.83	27/03/2024
Subodh College	Rajasthan	3.82	29/10/2024
Sri Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya College of Education	Tamil Nadu	3.82	11/09/2022
New Arts, Commerce and Science College, Ahmednagar	Maharashtra	3.79	29/10/2022
KTHM College, Nashik	Maharashtra	3.79	29/10/2024
St. Joseph's College, Bengaluru	Karnataka	3.79	29/10/2024
Kistu Jayanti College ,Bengaluru	Karnataka	3.78	20/12/2028
St. Xavier's College, Kolkata	West Bengal	3.77	22/01/2024
Cotton College, Guwahati	Assam	3.76	04/11/2021
St. Joseph's College, Devagiri	Kerala	3.76	15/09/2023
Holy Cross College, Tiruchirappalli	Tamil Nadu	3.75	13/02/2027
Deogiri College, Aurangabad	Maharashtra	3.75	16/03/2021
VNR Vignana Jyothi Institute of Engineering and Technology	Telangana	3.73	15/08/2023
Loyola College of Social Sciences	Kerala	3.72	09/12/2021
Marian College Kuttikkanam Autonomous	Kerala	3.71	31/12/2030
St. Ann’s College of Education, Mangaluru	Karnataka	3.71	09/12/2021

Controversies

In February 2025, the Central Bureau of Investigation arrested the chairman and six other members of a NAAC inspection committee, along with individuals from the Guntur‑based Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation, after uncovering a bribery scheme in which assessors allegedly received cash, gold, laptops, and mobile phones in exchange for favorable A++ accreditation ratings for multiple higher‑education institutions. ^[9] Raids conducted across 20 locations including Chennai, Bengaluru, Sambalpur, and New Delhi; led to seizures of approximately ₹3,700,000 (US$44,000) and electronic items. ^[10] In response, NAAC debarred the accused assessors, suspended KLEF from applying for accreditation for five years, and initiated reviews of hundreds of recent assessments. ^[11]

References

1. "Director NAAC". NAAC. Archived from the original on 11 July 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
2. "NAAC - Home". www.naac.gov.in. Archived from the original on 21 September 2010. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
3. Deeksha, Johanna (4 June 2025). "How colleges in India bribe assessors to get higher grades". Scroll.in . Retrieved 28 June 2025.
4. "NAAC - An Overview", National Assessment and Accreditation Council, archived from the original on 25 March 2012, retrieved 10 April 2012
5. "Higher Education in India". Government of India Ministry of Human Resource Development Department of Higher Education. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011.
6. "Assessment Outcome". www.naac.gov.in. Archived from the original on 1 January 2019. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
7. "NAAC - Statistics". Archived from the original on 26 March 2023. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
8. "Universities accredited by NAAC whose accreditation period is valid". National Assessment and Accreditation Council. Bengaluru. 11 March 2020. Archived from the original on 21 September 2020. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
9. Livemint (1 February 2025). "CBI arrests 10 people including JNU professor in NAAC rating bribery case, raids 20 locations | Today News". mint. Archived from the original on 18 May 2025. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
10. "JNU prof demanded Rs 1.80 crore for favourable report by NAAC inspection team: CBI in FIR". The Indian Express. 3 February 2025. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
11. "KLEF bribery case: NAAC adviser suspended". The Hindu. 10 February 2025. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 28 June 2025.

External links

• Official website