The NAAC accreditation of Punjabi University lapsed on February 18. While without a National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) accreditation, the university could lose out on government grants, university officials said they had applied for the same and also deputed professors as director and coordinator of the Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) to take the process forward.

The orders for the deputation of two officers were released by the university today. The institution deputed Dharamveer Sharma, professor at the Department of Computer Science, as the director of IQAC and Umrao Singh, professor at the Department of Defence and Strategic Studies, as its coordinator.

“The executive committee of the NAAC had accredited the university with grade ‘A’ on February 19, 2016, that was valid till February 18, 2023,” an official said.

Sharma said the officers would work on the process of NAAC accreditation of the university. “The process requires collecting data from all departments on the campus, their activities, including placements, co-curricular activities, research process, strength and others. The cell collects data from all departments and submits a report to the NAAC. The NAAC team then visits the campus, makes an assessment and later allocates a grade. Last time, Punjabi University was issued grade A. The process is going on. The university has already paid the fees for accreditation.”

University Vice-Chancellor, Prof Arvind also said the fees for the accreditation had been paid before it lapsed.

Officials said the universities got government grants on the basis of NAAC accreditation. “The NAAC was established by the UGC in 1994 to evaluate the performance of universities and colleges in the country. NAAC accreditation is mandatory for all Higher Educational Institutions from 2022 and has become an integral part of the education system for its association for approval of financial grants to these institutions,” an official said.