Staff crunch, aging infra: NAAC team flags areas of concern at Panjab University

Even as the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) has awarded Panjab University (PU) the highest A++ grade, the peer team has made 11 recommendations to further improve the university.

According to authorities, the NAAC team has recommended that since most buildings in the PU campus are old and heritage structures, they need to be renovated and upgraded.

The project and course outcomes also need to be mapped continuously, while the university should also try to reduce vehicular traffic within the campus.

The team has also recommended that rooftops of the university should be utilised for tapping solar energy.

As per PU vice-chancellor (V-C) Renu Vig, the university has already started working on the recommendations, beginning with four buildings, including the academic block and V-C office. The university had funds to set up the solar power system and the process was already in motion, she added.

The NAAC team has asked that the government and university should work together for quick recruitment of faculty and staff. The environment of consultancy and entrepreneurship should be promoted for resource generation, and the university should make serious efforts to generate revenue for industry collaboration.

The varsity has also been asked to recruit more qualified faculty for dental and other professional programmes.

NAAC has encouraged PU to improve its international ranking and to systematically conduct different types of audits. The course curriculum of programmes like management and law must be enriched and brought on par with IIMs and national law schools.

While the A++ rank will give more freedom to the university to start new courses, the university can also now open off-campus centres within its jurisdiction without the approval of the University Grants Commission (UGC). It can also now admit a maximum of 20% foreign students and is free to fix and charge fees from them without restrictions.

V-C Vig said already the effect of the A++ grade had started to show in the applications received by University Institute of Engineering and Technology (UIET) and even their Hoshiarpur campus will have full seats this session.

The NAAC team also identified some challenges facing the university. This includes enhancing the fee structure in parity with other eminent institutions, competing with private institutions of higher education with commercial interests and to make the courses more attractive in terms of market, industry and technological requirement.

PU secured a CGPA of 3.68 out of 4 in the fourth cycle of the NAAC grading. This is the highest score and highest grade that PU has ever gotten in its 150-year history.

A++ accreditation is awarded to universities and colleges with Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 3.51 to 4.00 and is valid for seven years.