As its chairperson resigns, a look at what NAAC is and what it does

Bhushan Patwardhan had alleged institutes were obtaining 'questionable grades' through malpractice

The chairperson of the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), Bhushan Patwardhan, resigned on Sunday night. In a letter to the University Grants Commission (UGC) chair M Jagadesh Kumar, Patwardhan said he had resigned “to safeguard self-respect and the sanctity of the post of chairman EC and the NAAC”.

Patwardhan’s resignation comes days after he called for an independent inquiry into the UGC’s decision to appoint an “additional chairman without any legal authority”. Patwardhan also wrote a letter to the UGC chair last month alleging that educational institutions were obtaining “questionable grades” through malpractice.

Following the massive expansion and privatisation