NAAC yet to open portal for AI-driven accreditation; over 400 colleges await

Patna: Even as more than 400 colleges and 12 universities in Bihar await accreditation, the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) is yet to open its portal for fresh assessments under its proposed new binary accreditation system, causing prolonged uncertainty for higher education institutions across the state.The NAAC portal for receiving applications—either for fresh accreditation or renewal for the second or third cycle—has remained closed for the past two years. As a result, not a single university or college in the state has been able to apply for accreditation during this period. The council was scheduled to roll out its new accreditation framework from July last year, but the process is yet to begin, with no formal explanation from the authorities.State director of higher education and vice-chairman of the State Higher Education Council, N K Agrawal, told this newspaper that NAAC may open its portal “any time soon” to accept applications under the new system. He pointed out that among the state’s 13 conventional universities, only L N Mithila University is currently NAAC accredited. Similarly, just 111 institutions out of 546 constituent and affiliated colleges in Bihar have accreditation, leaving the vast majority outside the quality assessment framework.Agrawal said NAAC is preparing to introduce a transformative, AI-driven accreditation mechanism that will replace conventional peer-review inspections with automated digital verification and machine learning tools. The initiative aims to expand accreditation coverage, eliminate human bias and enhance transparency and efficiency in the evaluation of higher education institutions.Under the proposed system, accreditation will rely on verified digital documents, AI-based data analysis and crowd-sourced feedback from stakeholders, including students and faculty. Notably, the traditional grading structure ranging from C to A++ will be scrapped. Institutions will instead be awarded a simple status of “Accredited” or “Not Accredited” after assessment.Patna University (PU), which earlier received a B+ grade, completed its five-year accreditation cycle in 2024 and is currently operating under an extension granted by NAAC. PU’s Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) director Birendra Prasad said the university will opt for the new Maturity-Based Graded Accreditation (MBGA) system, under which institutions are placed on levels ranging from 1 to 5. Level 5 signifies “Institutions of Global Excellence for Multi-Disciplinary Research and Education”.Prasad added that under the new system, peer teams will no longer physically visit campuses, with assessments conducted entirely through technology. The accreditation fee has also been reduced. The draft framework includes 10 attributes with 59 metrics for universities, 56 for autonomous colleges and 46 for affiliated colleges, he said.