HNB Garhwal University gets NAAC ‘A’ grade
HNB Garhwal University gets NAAC ‘A’ grade
Dehradun , June 22
Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University (A Central University) has been accredited as a ‘A Grade University’ by National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC). The NAAC peer team visited HNB Garhwal University from June 6 to 8, 2024 for assessment under third Cycle of NAAC Assessment. The university has been accredited as a ‘A Grade University’ by the NAAC in the third cycle. The HNB Garhwal University was accredited by the NAAC for the first time in the year 2003 in which University was accredited ‘B++’ university, the assessment under Cycle 2 was in the year 2016 in which university was accredited as a ‘A Grade University ‘and the current assessment under Cycle 3 was for the assessment period 2017-2022 in which the university has successfully retained its “A” accreditation. It is pertinent to mention herein that for the Cycle 3, the university was assessed under a totally revised framework of NAAC Assessment and Accreditation and accordingly the assessment was conducted under the revised process and format.
Vice Chancellor of HNB Garhwal University has stated that this is a significant achievement, especially considering that progress was hampered during two of the five assessment years (2020 and 2021) due to COVID-19 pandemic. But university not only handled the challenges successfully but also made best use of the online mediums during this period also.
The NAAC assessment Peer team praised the infrastructure and learning resources available and expressed great satisfaction and appreciation with the management and operations of all the universitys’ campuses. The NAAC peer team remarked that the university is performing exceptionally well despite the challenging geographical circumstances and managing two additional campuses located far from the university headquarters. The team was pleased with the universitys curricula, teaching and learning activities, and research publications by faculty members. The university’s performance was appreciated in the areas of Governance, adoption of the modules of the SAMARTH portal, Leadership, Management, Institutional Values, and Best Practices during the assessment period. The NAAC team particularly highlighted two centers of excellence: HAPPRC and the Museum of the Himalayan Archaeology. They commended the university’s governance and leadership, and initiative of the HNB Garhwal University of the formation of the Indian Himalayan Central University Consortium of the thirteen central universities of the Indian Himalayan Region for preparing five Himalayan region-specific reports for NITI Aayog., the effective introduction and implementation of the New Education Policy, and the curriculas focus on Indian Himalayan region studies. The team’s report has also expressed its great satisfaction and appreciation towards the university’s infrastructure and extraordinary work being done under difficult circumstances by the departments in all three campuses. The team was full of praise for the uniqueness and institutional distinctiveness which is reflected through the teaching, learning and research of the university.
However, the NAAC team under the chairpersonship of Prof. SP Bansal, Vice Chancellor, Central university of Himachal Pradesh, Dharmshala, raised concerns about the student-teacher ratio and the number of vacant seats during the assessment period. They also suggested strengthening the alumni association and increasing campus placements. The team appreciated the Vice- Chancellors’ efforts to improve the student-teacher ratio, which is expected to yield positive results in the near future. The new appointments nearly 185 have significantly improved the ratio, which will be reflected in the university’s next NAAC assessment.
The Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof. Annpurna Nautiyal, congratulated the students, teaching, and non-teaching staff for their hard work in maintaining the university’s quality and performance. She expressed hope that, with this strong foundation, and recent addition of new teaching and non- teaching staff the university will achieve new heights of success and many accomplishments in the coming years. She also extended her thanks to the young and new recruited faculty for also being part of this exercise and getting the opportunity to learn various things about the NAAC accreditation and peer team visit which will prove very valuable for the future.
