695 varsities, 34,734 colleges yet to receive NAAC accreditation: Ministry data

There are 1113 universities and 43,796 colleges across the country out of which only 418 universities and 9,062 colleges are accredited by NAAC.

NAAC accreditation to universities and colleges

Besides, a cluster of institutions managed by more than one sponsoring body or a society can also apply for deemed to be university status, it added. (Express Photo by Praveen Khanna/ File)

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The Ministry of Education Monday informed Parliament that only 418 universities and 9,062 colleges across the country have received accreditation from the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC).

As per the All India Survey on Higher Education Report 2020-21 published on January 31, there are 1,113 universities and 43,796 colleges across the country. A total of 695 universities and 34,734 colleges are yet to receive NAAC accreditation.

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In response to questions raised by BJP MPs, Minister of State for Education, Dr Subhas Sarkar said that the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020) envisions all higher educational institutions (HEIs) to aim to attain the highest level of accreditation over the next 15 years.

In India, universities and colleges are accredited by NAAC, an inter-university centre of the University Grants Commission (UGC).

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The UGC said that to bring all educational institutions under the accreditation system, NAAC has reduced the fee structure for assessment and accreditation considerably. The metrics or questions in the manual for self-study report for affiliated or constituent colleges have also been considerably reduced.