MDU gets NAAC warning over ‘fake’ A-Grade claim, fate of 6,000 students hang in balance

The University authorities claim that they have a “valid approval (of NAAC accreditation) for a period of five years”.

Vice-Chancellor Dr Rajbir Lohan did not respond to calls and text messages, while Director, Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC), Dr Narshiman B., referred the matter to Prof Ashish Dahiya at the Public Relations Office saying that he is the one authorised to speak on behalf of MDU. Prof Dahiya said, “MDU has Distance Education Bureau’s approval for five years and it is still valid. If the approval is valid, then only admission portals open; otherwise they do not”.

On MDU’s continued usage of accreditation despite NAAC asking it not to, Prof. Ashish said he will “get back as and when I receive the required information from the authorities concerned”.

However, the Indian Express learnt that the NAAC Director, on the evening of November 17 sent an email to V-C Lohan, Registrar Dr KK Gupta and Director (IQAC) Dr Narshiman on MDU “misleading the public”.

“Your university is clearly violating NAAC rules and moreover misleading the public, especially the parents, students and stakeholders by providing wrong information that your University is still accredited… Therefore, you are required to remove the NAAC accreditation details from your website and any other publicly available/ distributed documents and report back to NAAC immediately that the above is complied with. If not, NAAC may initiate action against the University deemed appropriate and also recommend to Statutory Regulatory Authorities to initiate action,” read the e-mail.

The NAAC Director mentioned that institutions accredited by NAAC, “if found misleading or providing false information to misguide the public and students about their accreditation status are liable to face stringent action by NAAC”. He further wrote, “Institutions are advised not to use the status of accreditation after the validity period is over. This amounts to misleading the stakeholders in general and in particular students and public. Institutions are liable to face stringent action by NAAC”.

A source, privy to the developments, said that MDU’s A+ accreditation lapsed on March 27, 2024. “The institutes’ need to initiate the process of renewal of accreditation six months before it lapses. They (MDU) were supposed to submit the institutional information for quality assessment (IIQA), self-study report (SSR) and other requisite documents followed by inspection by NAAC’s team to renew the accreditation. But, apparently it was not done,” the source said.

Meanwhile, on November 18, the UGC’s Distance Education Bureau informed the MDU that “it is not eligible to apply for offering ODL/ online programmes for the academic year 2025-26 as per the provisions of the UGC (Open and Distance Learning Programmes and Online Programmes) Regulations, 2020”. The UGC said that the MDU’s National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) ranking was under the State Public University category, “where as the said regulations stipulate that your University should come in NIRF Ranking under University category for eligibility”.

The UGC also informed the MDU that “for ODL courses, any higher educational institution applying for approvals for offering programmes should fulfill two conditions – should be accredited by the NAAC with minimum score of 3.01 on a 4-point scale; or should be in the top 100 in University category in the NIRF for at least once in last two preceding cycles (at the time of application)”; while for Online courses, another condition — “should be in existence for at least three years” — must be fulfilled by the higher educational institution.

Another source privy with the developments said, “The fate of students who have already been enrolled by the University in Online or ODL courses now hangs in balance. The University may face sever action including complete ban on new admissions in Online and ODL programmes; loss of eligibility for most UGC/AICTE/central government grants & research projects; drop in NIRF ranking and national perception; legal and reputational crisis besides risk of penalties; severe damage to placement and student employability; significant disadvantage in attracting top students and faculty; and constraint on international collaboration and global rankings”

Meanwhile, Haryana’s former deputy chief minister and JJP leader Dushyant Chautala said, “Removal of MDU’s A+ NAAC rating, and the fact that students were kept in the dark about it, are an extremely serious matter. The loss of NAAC accreditation will negatively impact the higher education prospects and careers of thousands of students”.

“As per norms, an inspection was required during the current session to renew the NAAC accreditation, but the university administration failed to conduct it due to negligence. Strict action should be taken against the V-C and other responsible officials, as this incident has damaged the reputation of MDU and pushed the future of enrolled students into uncertainty,” Dushyant said in a statement.

Holding MDU’s vice chancellor directly responsible for the development, Chautala said, “In an attempt to please his political masters, the V-C deliberately avoided the inspection so that a decline in the university’s rating during his tenure would not come to light. The VC’s own degree is under scrutiny, with Kurukshetra Police and Kurukshetra University currently investigating the matter”.

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