Rabindranath Tagore – would they be around today – deep down: are universities being ranked, or the university founded by them is not rated highly by the national body? While his response is a matter of hypothesis, the fact is that Visva-Bharati has completed its centenary year – already marked with controversies – by receiving an unsatisfactory B+ grade from NAAC.
The NAAC, or National Assessment and Accreditation Council, evaluates and accredits higher education institutions every five years. A good score is not only an indicator of the quality of education in an institution but also important for getting projects and grants for it. During the last assessment in 2015, the Santiniketan-based university had scored 2.82 on a four-point scale, earned a B++ and was missing an ‘A’ by 0.18 points.
This year it got even lower, just 2.65 marks, or a B+ grade, something that vice-chancellor Vidyut Chakraborty’s opponents see as validation of his allegations that education at the university suffered during his tenure, mainly From was marked by a string. Regarding disciplinary action against teachers. Pro. Chakraborty took charge in November 2018 and has thus been at the helm for three of the last five years, for which Visva-Bharati was assessed last week by the NAAC team.
While the university PRO, its only official authorized to speak to the media, did not respond to calls for comment, Visva Bharati University Faculty Association (VBUFA) president Sudipta Bhattacharya, a critic of the VC, blamed the slide entirely. . officials.
“The NAAC team had a very high opinion of the teachers – it is on record. The authorities have created an atmosphere of fear if anyone is to be blamed for the poor performance, which is obviously not conducive to education. Hindu,
Professor of Economics Bhattacharya was suspended in January this year for alleging irregularities in a certain appointment made by the Vice-Chancellor. According to several faculty members, the fact that his suspension has been so long, even though he is a highly qualified teacher and ideally should have been in the classroom, shows that the officers were unwilling to use the talent at their disposal. .
The NAAC rating validates not only critics of the current administration, but also the institution’s slide in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF). Just three months ago, in early September, its position among universities across the country has seen the deepest drop ever since NIRF’s inception in 2015 – from 11th in 2016 to 19th in 2017 to 31st in 2018 Ranked 37th in 2020 to 50th in 2020. 64th in 2021. In the ‘overall category’, which includes all institutions such as engineering, medical and other colleges, Visva-Bharati was ranked 97th.
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