Bihar’s first: CUSB gets NAAC A++ grade to join the elite list of universities

PATNA: Central University of South Bihar (CUSB) has become the first university in the state to receive an A++ grade, the highest in its grading scale, from the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), which was announced on Saturday.

NAAC A++ rankings puts CUSB on the list of elite institutions like the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru. The universities and colleges with A++ accreditation come with the Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 3.51 to 4.00.

CUSB, which was established in 2009, had received an ‘A’ rating from the national body during the first phase of evaluation and certification in 2017.

Prof Kameshwar Nath Singh, who assumed the charge as the third vice-chancellor of CUSB in 2021, attributed the University’s achievement to its faculty members, students, staff, and officers. “They all worked day and night, taking upon themselves the role of leadership in their respective fields to take the institution to this position. But now the challenge will be to maintain this position, which I am confident the institution will continue to strive for due to its dedicated and committed team. For a young CUSB, it is just the beginning of a long journey. It will also help the institution improve its ranking in the national institutional ranking framework (NIRF),” he said.

It has been a steady rise for the CUSB since its inception 14 years ago. If the founding VC Dr Janak Pandey ensured that the university had its land for campus and gave it a spirited start, the second VC HCS Rathore gave shape to the sprawling integrated campus in Bodh Gaya by camping in the forlorn place from the beginning of his tenure and the incumbent VC KN Singh’s tenure has seen the institution get the highest grade.

CUSB’s A++ grade is significant, as most of Bihar’s institutions don’t even have accreditation. Under the new education policy (NEP), accreditation is a basic requirement, linked to funding. NAAC has decided to align the assessment and accreditation process in higher education with the NEP and Sustainable Development Goals 2030.

“It is a matter of pride that of all the central universities set up in 2009, CUSB is the only one that has got the highest grade to be in the list of high-performance institutions. It means a lot for a state like Bihar, which has the highest migration of students for higher education to other states. We hope it will bring about a paradigm shift and be a trendsetter for all the state institutions. It will give one good reason for the students of the state to not look beyond for quality education and also encourage state institutions to strive for excellence,” Singh added.

Earlier known as the Central University of Bihar (CUB), it was among the 16 central universities set up by the central government under the Central Universities Act in 2009.

“The students will get the option of quality education within the state. More institutions will also strive to improve. Bihar needs many institutions to cater to the growing needs,” said the VC

CUSB offers 5-Year Integrated B.A. - LL.B. Hons (intake 132 seats), 4-Year Integrated BA B.Ed. (intake 63 seats) and 4-Year Integrated BSc B.Ed. (intake 63 seats), besides various master programmes. All the admissions are through central university entrance test (CUET). Besides, it has launched B.Sc (Agriculture) and master’s programme in artificial intelligence and data science from the new session.