Open varsity’s labs to all researchers, says NAAC report

Panaji: The National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), which awarded Goa University an A+ grade last July for the first time in the latter’s history, has made some suggestions for further improvement of the state’s sole govt-run varsity. The recommendations, which were put in the public domain last month, include the introduction of courses related to logistics management, supply chain management, and entrepreneurship.The peer team report also suggests that GU consider starting programmes related to AI, machine learning and digital marketing. It has asked the varsity to have a translation centre as it has a strong faculty base in the field. GU should promote its laboratories and experimental facilities too, “so that other scientists and researchers in the local area and national level may take advantage of it”, the report has suggested, while pointing out that the GU needs to improve the presence of national and international students on campus.According to the NAAC report, a large campus with more than 400 acres of land, a 69.5% of female students, and many students being from rural areas and first-generation learners are among GU’s strengths. “The university provides research incentives to faculty members. Strong base for studies in Indian and foreign languages. Good infrastructure and research facilities,” it has observed.The report states that the university’s opportunities lie in the rich biodiversity on campus and its high-end labs.However, the NAAC team felt that lower intake due to less population, very few undergraduate programmes on campus, and the absence of some disciplines like, geography, physical education etc were among GU’s weaknesses. The team also saw the road passing through the campus, limited opportunities for raising revenue through industries, and the image of Goa as against serious scientific pursuit as challenges.The A+ grade is a significant jump for the varsity from the B++ grade awarded to it in the last assessment cycle by NAAC in 2022. GU also attained a very high cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of 3.30 in the latest assessment cycle. Its score in the last cycle was 2.86.The NAAC report has stated that GU has implemented as much of the recommendations from the previous NAAC assessments as possible. It noted that GU has adopted five villages towards its community outreach programme and that all of the varsity’s programmes are now NEP-compliant. The NAAC team has said there are ample security measures on campus, facilities are disabled-friendly and that there are good waste managements systems.The assessment is based on curriculum, teaching-learning and evaluation methods, research, innovation and extension activities, infrastructure and learning resources, student support and progression, governance, leadership and management, and institutional management and best practices.