Supreme Court notice to UGC and NAAC, sought a response from the Ministry of Education on this issue.

The Supreme Court has sought a response from the Union Education Ministry and other parties on a petition seeking measures to ensure fair and transparent grading by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council of Higher Educational Institutions.

The Supreme Court of the country has sought response from the Union Education Ministry and other parties on a petition seeking measures to ensure fair and transparent grading by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council of Higher Education Institutions. The court has issued notice to UGC and NAAC in this regard. A bench of Judge PS Narasimha and Justice Joymalya Bagchi has issued notice to the Ministry, University Grants Commission (UGC) and NAAC on the petition of NGO Bistro Destino Foundation.

What does NAAC do?

NAAC, established in 1994, is an autonomous body under UGC that grades colleges and universities on parameters such as curriculum, faculty, infrastructure, research and financial well-being. In its order dated April 9, the court had said, "We want to go into the depth of the matter and know how NAAC is working."

Concerns about fairness and transparency

The petition has raised concerns about transparency and fairness in the process of evaluation and grading of higher educational institutions run by NAAC. The petition states that there are concerns about fairness and transparency under the current methodology adopted by NAAC. The petition cites the case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation on February 1 against NAAC officers in the case of corruption and says that it raises disturbing questions on the effectiveness of the accreditation process.

Let us tell you that recently the University Grants Commission i.e. UGC had announced new rules to streamline the process of recognizing and providing equivalence to educational qualifications obtained from foreign institutions. (With PTI Input)