In a sweeping reform aimed at demystifying and democratizing higher education standards, India’s National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) has launched a fully digital, simplified accreditation system for colleges and universities. The move, hailed by the University Grants Commission (UGC) as “historic,” seeks to boost institutional participation, reduce bureaucratic bottlenecks, and usher in a more transparent evaluation framework.
The overhauled process will eliminate traditional peer review site visits and move entirely to an automated online platform, revolutionizing how higher education institutions are evaluated for academic quality and institutional maturity.
From Grades to Growth: New System Introduced
NAAC will now offer two key accreditation tracks:
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Binary Accreditation: Institutions will either be Accredited or Not Accredited, eliminating the fear of stigmatizing letter grades that deterred participation.
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Maturity-Based Graded Accreditation (MBGA): Institutions will be assessed on a five-level growth scale, with Level 1 being the entry point and Level 5 reflecting global excellence.
Each level corresponds to a rising degree of institutional capability, governance, research output, and global competitiveness. Lower tiers (Levels 1–2) will be fully online, Level 3 will follow a hybrid format, and the top tiers (Levels 4–5) will involve higher levels of scrutiny.
No More Fear of a Low Grade
The current seven-tier letter-based system—ranging from A++ to D—will be discontinued. Officials say that many institutions, especially private colleges, hesitated to undergo the NAAC process for fear of being graded poorly.
“Only 40% of universities and less than 20% of colleges are currently accredited,” said a senior NAAC official. “We need to reverse this trend.”
To address this gap, accreditation will now be valid for three years instead of five, encouraging continuous improvement and regular reassessment.
Launch Tied to NEP Anniversary
The initiative is expected to be formally launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 29, 2025, marking the fifth anniversary of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. In preparation, NAAC has begun onboarding institutions, with fresh applications anticipated under the new regime from this month onward.
The reform also aligns with India’s broader education transformation goals under NEP 2020, which call for more autonomy, digital governance, and quality benchmarks to prepare institutions for global competitiveness.
A Push for Inclusivity and Quality
NAAC and UGC officials say the digital pivot will make the accreditation process faster, cost-effective, and more inclusive, especially for smaller institutions in remote regions. The agency also hopes to raise India’s institutional accreditation coverage to 90–95%, a dramatic improvement over current levels.
For colleges long plagued by cumbersome processes, inconsistent evaluations, and fears of reputational damage, the new system promises a more supportive and progressive path to quality assurance.
As one senior education ministry official put it, “This is not just accreditation—it’s a roadmap for India’s knowledge economy.”
