New Delhi: Two days after the Red Fort car blast, the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) issued a show-cause notice to Al-Falah University in Faridabad for displaying false accreditation on its website. The council described the claim as “misleading” and against its norms.
The Al-Falah University is under scrutiny after staff members at Al-Falah School of Medical Sciences and Research Centre—Umar Un Nabi, Muzammil Shakeel and Shaheen Saeed—were linked to the car blast in Delhi that took place Monday evening, killing at least 12 people.
ThePrint reported Wednesday that while the university website states that its two schools—Al-Falah School of Engineering & Technology and Al-Falah School of Education and Training—were accredited by the NAAC, officials at the council said the accreditation was no longer valid as it lasts for only five years. The university itself was never accredited.
The NAAC is an autonomous body under the Union Ministry of Education that evaluates and accredits higher education institutions to ensure quality and standards in education.
The University Grants Commission (UGC), India’s higher education regulator, Wednesday sought a report from Al-Falah University regarding the “recent incident”, senior government officials told ThePrint.
“The UGC has asked the university to provide details of the steps taken following the recent incident. The commission has also sought a comprehensive report on the matter,” an official said.
In the show-cause notice issued to the university registrar late Wednesday evening, NAAC director Ganesan Kannabiran states that it was brought to notice that Al-Falah’s School of Engineering & Technology was part of the NAAC cycle from March 2013 to March 2018 and the department of teacher education was accredited for the cycle 2011 to 2016. While both were accredited with grade A, their accreditation now stands expired.
“Both of the above colleges’ accreditation status has expired. Both of the above colleges have not yet volunteered for the Cycle-2 Assessment and Accreditation (A&A) process of NAAC,” states the notice, seen by ThePrint.
It raises concerns that while the university was never accredited nor volunteered for accreditation, it has publicly displayed on its website that two of its colleges are accredited by the NAAC.
“…which is absolutely wrong and misleading the public, especially the parents, students and stakeholders. Based on the above, the Executive Committee (EC) of NAAC has decided to issue a show-cause notice,” it adds.
The notice asks the university to explain why action deemed appropriate, including legal action, should not be initiated against it. “Why should the university not be disqualified for future consideration for assessment and accreditation by NAAC?” it says.
It further asks the university to explain why the NAAC should not recommend to the UGC to withdraw its recognition under Section 2(f) and 12B of the UGC Act, and to the National Medical Commission (NMC) to withdraw its recognition of the medical school.
While the private university is recognised by the UGC, its medical school falls under the jurisdiction of the NMC.
“In the meantime, you are required to remove the NAAC accreditation details from your website and any other publicly available/distributed documents and report back to NAAC that the above is complied with,” says the notice.
The university has been asked to respond within seven days.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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