CBI Arrested 10 People in NAAC ‘Bribery Scam’, Andhra University, Which was at the Centre of Controversy, has Been Barred From Getting Recognition for 5 Years

CBI Arrested 10 People: Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation (KLEF) in Andhra Pradesh has recently made headlines following the arrest of its officials by the Central Bureau of Investigation. They are accused of attempting to bribe members of the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) inspection team in order to secure favorable grades. In light of these developments, the council announced on Saturday that KLEF has been deprived of its accreditation for a period of five years.

A deemed university, KLEF had secured the highest grade of A++ during NAAC’s last assessment in 2018. The grade was two notches higher than the A grade awarded in 2013. The university is currently undergoing a re-assessment, with an inspection by the council in progress.

The National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), a public autonomous body of the University Grants Commission, is responsible for assessing and accrediting higher education institutions in India.

NAAC grades are widely considered an indicator of quality, and institutions display them prominently. According to UGC regulations, the aim is to “enable students and other stakeholders to make informed choices”.

CBI had Earlier This Month Arrested 10 People

The CBI had earlier this month arrested 10 people, including KLEF vice-chancellor G P Saradhi Verma and two other office bearers, six members and the chairman of the NAAC inspection team. The CBI FIR in the case said the institute was scheduled for inspection from January 29 to 31 for NAAC “re-accreditation” for the period 2024-29.

According to the FIR, Verma allegedly approached NAAC officials through former NAAC deputy advisor L Manjunath Rao and Bangalore University’s Department of Computer Science and Applications professor and director (IQAC-NAAC) M Hanumanthappa, “to explore ways and means to include known members in the constitution of the NAAC inspection team.”

The NAAC executive committee, headed by Anil Sahasrabudhe, held an emergency meeting two days ago, in which it was decided to derecognise KLEF for five years.

In a press statement, the council said, “Firstly, the Executive Committee of NAAC has decided that the current process of accreditation of the university involved in the CBI case is summarily cancelled and the university will be debarred for 5 years from applying for accreditation.”

The press statement added, “It has also been decided that all the seven members of the peer team are debarred for life from assessment or any other activity of NAAC with immediate effect. Further, it has been decided to review the recent visits of higher education institutions by any of the seven members whose results have not been declared. The results of such higher education institutions will be withheld and the Standing Committee of NAAC may seriously review them before declaring the results.

Further, it has been decided that the visits of the last one year will be carefully analysed and placed before the Election Commission for further necessary action.” The seven members of the NAAC peer team who have been arrested include Jawaharlal Nehru University professor Rajiv Sijaria; Bharat Institute of Law dean D. Gopal Rajesh Singh Pawar; Jagran Lakecity University dean; Manas Kumar Mishra, director of G L Bajaj Institute of Technology and Management; Gayatri Devaraj, professor at Davanagere University; Bulu Maharana, professor at Sambalpur University; and Samarendra Nath Saha, vice-chancellor of Ramachandra Chandravanshi University, who was the chairman of the inspection committee. Professor Sijaria of the Atal Bihari Vajpayee School of Management and Entrepreneurship (ABVSME) of Jawaharlal Nehru University has been suspended by the university.

KLEF was established in 1980-81 as KL College of Engineering, after being granted deemed-to-be university status by the University Grants Commission (UGC) in 2009. While the main campus is at Vaddeswaram in Guntur, it has two centres, one at Aziznagar in Rangareddy district of Telangana and the other at Medchal-Malkajgiri in Greater Hyderabad.

Interestingly, KLEF performed better than IISER Pune (which was ranked 42nd), IIT Ropar (which was ranked 48th), IIT Mandi (72nd) and IIT Patna (73rd) in the NIRF rankings. It also performed better than NIT Warangal and NIT Calicut, which were ranked 53rd and 54th.

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