Jaipur: A recent assessment visit by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) to the University of Rajasthan (RU) has come under scrutiny following allegations of conflict of interest involving the team’s chairperson.Documents reveal that Prof Nageshwar Rao, who led the NAAC evaluation team during their June 3-5 visit, served on the advisory council of RA Podar Institute of Management, an RU-affiliated institution, from Jan 18, 2021, until Feb 14 this year. This appointment appears to violate NAAC’s ethical guidelines, which mandate that team members should have no institutional associations within the previous three years.The controversy has prompted senior academics to seek intervention from the union education minister, demanding a fresh evaluation of the university. “Such a case of conflict of interest is a blatant violation and disregard of protocol and a breach of public trust on NAAC,” said a senior academician from Rajasthan, speaking anonymously.Adding to the concerns, the NAAC team’s visit was already controversial due to irregularities observed during departmental presentations, where retired faculty members, rather than permanent staff, were found making presentations to the evaluation team.Despite multiple attempts by TOI to reach out, both Prof Nageshwar Rao and RU Vice-Chancellor Alpana Kateja remained unavailable for comments.The incident has raised serious questions about the integrity of the assessment process, particularly given NAAC’s position as the country’s sole national-level accreditation agency for higher education institutions.
