The National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), an autonomous body under the University Grants Commission (UGC), is facing allegations of irregularities in the way it operates.

On Tuesday, the NAAC released a statement addressing the allegations, saying, “As per the mandate of NAAC, the entire process of accreditation and assessment is robust, transparent, ICT-driven and automated. The system cannot be compromised because the whole process is decentralised, transparent and accessible to the stakeholders through a user friendly portal.

Former Chairman Bhushan Partwardhan had submitted his intent to resign to UGC Chairman M Jagadesh Kumar and stated that he was doing so in order to "safeguard the sanctity" of the position of the agency and the chair.

On February 26, 2023 the former Chairman wrote about “the possibility of vested interests, malpractices, and nexus among the persons concerned, offering thereby a green corridor by presumably manipulating ICT, DVV and PTV processes leading to the awarding of questionable grades to some HEIs.”

In response to this, NAAC has issued an official statement addressing all the apprehensions raised by the media and former Chairman regarding a compromised IT cell, super admins and questionable grades.

As per the mandate of NAAC, the entire process of accreditation and assessment is robust, transparent, ICT-driven and automated. The system cannot be compromised because the whole process is decentralised, transparent and accessible to the stakeholders through a user friendly portal," stated the agency.

NAAC further added that the processes of assessment and accreditation are being continuously improved to ensure that the grading for universities and higher education institutes are done transparently and professionally.

NAAC is an autonomous body funded by the University Grants Commission. It is responsible for assessesing and accrediting Higher Education Institutions.