Corruption
Sacking 900 Assessors Alone Won’t Restore NAAC’s Credibility Amid Corruption Scandal
The National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), once considered the gold standard for evaluating the quality of higher education institutions in India, is facing an unprecedented credibility crisis. The recent removal of 900 assessors and the arrest of a JNU professor in a bribery case have raised serious concerns about the integrity of its accreditation process.
Mass Dismissal of Assessors
In a sweeping move, NAAC dismissed 900 of its 5,000 peer assessors for violating evaluation protocols. According to NAAC Director Ganesan Kannabiran, an 18-month-long review exposed troubling irregularities, including manipulated assessments, misleading reports, and assessors conducting unauthorized pre-evaluation visits.
The trigger for this crackdown was the bribery scandal involving Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation (KLEF) in Andhra Pradesh. A CBI investigation revealed that NAAC officials had accepted bribes to grant KLEF an A++ rating. This led to the debarment of implicated assessors and the launch of multiple review committees to examine regional and subject-wise irregularities.
CBI Probe: Arrests and Bribe Details
The CBI arrested 10 individuals, including JNU professor Rajeev Sijariya, who allegedly acted as a middleman between institutions and corrupt NAAC officials. According to the FIR, KLEF officials negotiated a Rs 1.8 crore bribe with assessors.
Investigators found that bribes were paid in cash, gold, mobile phones, and laptops, reinforcing long-standing fears that institutions with financial influence could manipulate ratings, while deserving institutions without such resources suffered.
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Past Controversies and Ongoing Irregularities
NAAC has faced scrutiny before.
- In September 2022, it withheld the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda’s rating after allegations of bribery involving gold and cash. However, it later issued an improved rating, dismissing the allegations.
- In 2014, whistleblowers flagged grade inflation and tampering with assessment reports.
- In 2023, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) highlighted major discrepancies in 29% of cases it reviewed. In many instances, scores did not align with assessors’ observations.
Adding to the turmoil, Bhushan Patwardhan, former chairperson of NAAC’s Executive Committee, resigned in 2023, citing widespread corruption. He had repeatedly called for an independent inquiry but was replaced before any major action was taken.
Systemic Flaws and Proposed Reforms
NAAC, established in 1994 under the University Grants Commission (UGC), follows a multi-layered accreditation process based on curriculum, faculty, infrastructure, research, and financial health. However, experts argue that the system is deeply flawed and vulnerable to manipulation.
Recognizing these concerns, the Union Ministry of Education formed a reform committee in November 2022, chaired by former ISRO chairman K. Radhakrishnan. The committee suggested:
- Replacing the Graded Accreditation System with a Binary Accreditation System—classifying institutions as Accredited, Provisionally Accredited, or Not Accredited to reduce rating manipulation.
- Introducing a Maturity-Based Graded Accreditation (MBGA) system, ranking institutions across five levels based on long-term performance rather than temporary compliance.
- Reducing peer review visits—a key corruption loophole—and shifting to data-driven evaluations with cross-verification mechanisms.
Despite these recommendations, implementation has been slow, and NAAC’s website lacks clear details on the new system’s rollout. The move towards online or hybrid evaluations has also raised concerns about the depth and reliability of assessments.
The Road Ahead: Restoring Trust in Accreditation
The NAAC bribery scandal is a wake-up call for India’s higher education system. Accreditation should be a benchmark of quality, guiding students and employers. However, if institutions can buy grades, the credibility of Indian degrees is at stake.
To rebuild trust, NAAC must go beyond superficial measures and implement strict penalties for malpractice, independent oversight mechanisms, and a fully transparent accreditation process. Until then, the cracks in India’s higher education system will only deepen, jeopardizing academic excellence and global reputation.