Question : Regional Offices of NAAC

(a) whether the Government is aware that it has been made compulsory by the
University Grants Commission (UGC) for all the educational institutions to be accredited
by National Accreditation and Assessment Council (NAAC);
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) whether various State Government including Chhattisgarh have sent proposals to
set up regional offices of NAAC in the respective States to speed up accreditation work
and improve quality of education of the educational institutions;
(d) if so, the details thereof;
(e) whether the Government have agreed to provide land to the States free of cost for
this purpose; and
(f) if so, the time by which the said pending proposal is likely to be cleared?

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
(Dr. MAHENDRA NATH PANDEY)

(a) & (b): As per the University Grants Commission (UGC) (Mandatory Assessment and
Accreditation of higher Educational Institutions) Regulations, 2012 it is mandatory for all
higher educational institutions to be accredited by an assessment and accreditation
agency after passing out of two batches or six years, whichever is earlier. These
Regulations are available at http://www.ugc.ac.in/pdfnews/8541429_English.PDF . The
National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) is recognized as an
assessment and accreditation agency by the UGC for the purposes of accreditation.
The All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) has issued similar regulations for
technical institutions. The National Board of Accreditation (NBA) is recognized by the
AICTE for purposes of accreditation.
(c) to (f): The NAAC has informed that the State Governments of Chattisgarh and Uttar
Pradesh have requested for locating Regional Offices of NAAC in these States.
Although the NAAC does not have Regional Offices, it has reviewed its requirements of
capacity expansion and decided to undertake several Information & Communications
Technology (ICT) measures, process reforms and expanding the pool of assessors,
apart from enhancing its staff strength, for streamlining and expediting the process of
assessment and accreditation in the first phase.
The State Higher Education Departments have already been requested, through
Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA), to activate the State Level Quality
Assurance Cells (SLQACs) to coordinate and expedite submission of Assessment and
Accreditation documents by State institutions to NAAC.
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