UGC's new directive to all the Universities and colleges of Bihar

University Grants Commission, has issued a new directive to all the universities and colleges of Bihar, asking them to apply for National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) by 1st June, 2014. If any college or university fails to do so, UGC could stop grants to them from 1st April, 2015.

UGC already made it mandatory in its 2012 Regulation. According to its 2012 Regulations, each and every college and university should get NAAC gradation for availing UGC grants for their development.

Shiva Prakash, a World Bank consultant says "The bank has been assisting a lot in the development of infrastructure in the universities and colleges across the country to improve academic ambiance in the field of higher education. Bihar government is also putting a lot of emphasis on development of higher education in each university of the state. Workshops, seminars and conferences are being held in most of the universities of Bihar to create awareness among officials and teachers about the importance of NAAC gradation."

He added further "The overall scenario of higher education in Bihar is dismal due to lack of proper infrastructure in most of the constituent colleges. Surprisingly, faculty crunch is affecting the higher education atmosphere in most of the universities in Bihar. None of the 11 universities of Bihar have been accredited by NAAC so far. That is the reason why only a few colleges have been accredited so far by NAAC. Grading doesn't matter in NAAC, but it is more important to get the universities and colleges accredited by NAAC team so that UGC funds could flow uninterrupted in each financial year to universities and colleges for their development."