Panjab University joins elite NAAC A++ club

Amid fund crunch and controversy surrounding Punjab’s opposition to associate Haryana with the varsity, the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) has awarded Panjab University the A++ grade, the highest in its grading scale, given to premier institutions in the country.

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.

In 2015, when the varsity was ranked last, it had secured “A”, two places behind the top grade, and also the highest in its 150-year history, until now.

NAAC a statutory body, assesses and gives accreditation to higher educational institutes in the country and its gradation is an important marker for quality education nationally as well as internally for any institute.

As per the varsity, PU has got a CGPA of 3.68 out of 4, an improvement compared to 3.35 out of 4 during NAAC’s last visit in 2015.

In the region, Chandigarh University, Gharuan, and Chitkara University, Rajpura, both have an A+ NAAC grade, second in the body’s ranking order, followed by A, B++, B+, B, C and D.

PU vice-chancellor (V-C) Renu Vig termed the development a proud moment for everyone associated with the university. “There has been a marked improvement at PU in the last seven years that helps us jump straight from A to A++,” said Vig, who took over as V-C in March, becoming the first woman to hold the post.

There are seven parameters that serve as the basis for the assessment procedure. PU was able to score higher this year in all seven, but improved most dramatically in institutional values and best practices, where it scored a perfect CGPA of 4.0.

There was also significant jump of 0.67 points in both curricular aspects; and governance, leadership and management criteria.

The CGPA score for the NAAC grade is calculated based on scores obtained from three sources — the System Generated Scores (SGS) of the quantitative metrics, which comprise about 70% of the total, scores from the qualitative, critical appraisal by the peer team through on-site visit, and the scores obtained on the Student Satisfaction Survey.

What worked for the university

V-C Renu Vig said the university had a strong research base and had also worked on suggestions made by NAAC in the previous visit. “In 2015, the team had pointed out that the classrooms are not information and communication technology (ICT)-enabled. Efforts were made to have such classrooms in various departments and to integrate technology with education,” she said.

Changes to the curriculum as suggested by NAAC were also followed. The recent decision of PU to implement National Education Policy (NEP) for undergraduate courses on the campus has also helped PU score better, she added.

Freedom to run own courses

PU registrar YP Verma said, “The university will now have the freedom to introduce its own courses, especially distance learning courses.”

Meanwhile, it remains to be seen whether the improved grade will translate into more funding for the university from the Centre and Punjab. However, officials said funding for research projects undertaken by PU will definitely go up.

“Funding should improve, as earlier funds were being provided for a university with A grade,” the registrar said.

Panjab University Teachers Association (PUTA) president Supinder Kaur called the A++ grade a matter of pride for university. “The award has come as a blessing for the entire teaching community, which has brought laurels despite the acute faculty and financial crunch in the recent past,” she said.

PU has seen a trend of decline in various rankings over the years. It had slipped three spots in the National Institution Ranking Framework (NIRF) ranking from overall 41 last year to overall 44 this year. In the 2023 Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings, the varsity ranked in the 801-1000 bracket among the global institutions, a significant drop from the 601-800 bracket in the last edition.

It, however, improved in the QS World Rankings 2024, rising from the 1,201-1,400 bracket to the 1,001-1,200 bracket.