NAAC Assessment Process in Limbo for Two Years, Universities and Colleges Await Launch of New Grading System

The NAAC’s shift to a maturity-based grading system has stalled institutional assessments for nearly two years. With the old ranking model discontinued, universities and colleges are questioning when the new evaluation framework will finally begin.

May 4, 2026 | Pune: Even two years after the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) announced the introduction of a new “Maturity-Based Grading System”, the actual implementation remains uncertain, leaving universities and colleges across the country without any active accreditation evaluation process.

NAAC had earlier declared that the existing grade-based ranking model would be replaced with a modern maturity-based framework, similar to systems followed in leading global education hubs. However, due to the transition, the earlier evaluation process has been discontinued, while the new mechanism has yet to become operational. This prolonged delay has raised serious concerns in the higher education sector, as NAAC accreditation is considered a crucial benchmark for quality assurance, student admissions, funding opportunities, and institutional credibility.

Under the proposed system, NAAC is expected to adopt a simplified “binary evaluation” approach. Institutions would be classified into three categories those already evaluated, those awaiting evaluation, and those not evaluated. Alongside this, NAAC plans to introduce five maturity levels aimed at encouraging institutions to improve academic standards. Level four would represent “national excellence”, while level five would indicate “global excellence”. To reduce paperwork and ease data submission, NAAC has also proposed implementing a “One Nation, One Data Platform”, allowing institutions to upload key information online through the NAAC portal. This would reduce the need for frequent physical inspection visits, making the assessment process faster and more transparent.

Despite these plans, the reality remains that neither the old nor the new evaluation system has been conducted for the last two years, effectively giving colleges and universities a free window without external scrutiny.

As per available NAAC data, 8,749 colleges and 573 universities have been assessed so far. Institutions with A++ grade stand at 313, while 830 institutions have A+ status and 1,463 have secured A grade. In the B category, 1,571 institutions have B++ grade, 1,672 have B+ grade and 2,511 have B grade. Meanwhile, 897 institutions fall under C grade and 64 under D grade. Savitribai Phule Pune University Vice-Chancellor Dr Suresh Gosavi stated that the university’s earlier A+ grade will remain valid until the maturity-based grading system is introduced, and preparations for future evaluation are already underway.

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