Delhi Blast Case Fallout: Al-Falah University gets NAAC show-cause notice for fake accreditation listing
On Thursday, India’s higher education regulator National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) sent a show cause notice to Al‑Falah University of Faridabad over alleged discrepancies in its accreditation claims.
In its show-cause notice, NAAC was categorical that Al‑Falah University had neither been accredited by it, nor had it applied for a Cycle-1 assessment by NAAC. However, Al-Falah University’s website has been carrying a claim of accreditation as “Graded A by NAAC.” This claim had apparently been made to highlight the status of its former three constituent colleges: Al‑Falah School of Engineering and Technology (AESAT) since 1997 and Al‑Falah School of Education and Training (ALSET) since 2006.
NAAC’s Show Cause Notice
The notice sent by NAAC to Al-Falah University asks the Faridabad university to:
Provide an explanation for carrying accreditation information and grade despite not having any valid accreditation status.
Promptly delete the NAAC accreditation information from its website and all other public display.
Provide a response to the notice (within seven days) and state its case for not recommending punitive measures to NAAC including being barred from future accreditation, as well as action to be recommended to other regulators such as the University Grants Commission (UGC) for withdrawal of recognition.
As per one senior NAAC official, the accreditation of the engineering college had also lapsed (valid till 2018) and that of the education college had lapsed in 2016 but the claimed grades of these former constituent colleges are being displayed as valid.
Al‑Falah University and the Delhi Blast Investigation
The accreditation investigation is independent and separate but noteworthy given the news glare on the university of late. This is because of the recent arrests of doctors at Al‑Falah University in connection with the Red Fort Blast investigation in Delhi. The police are also reported to have seized a large cache of explosives in the Faridabad-Dhauj area. In a statement, the Al‑Falah University management has said that it “has no connection with the doctors under the scanner apart from the professional link” and it is not clear if the accreditation issue is linked to the ongoing investigation.
Impact
For one, this is a rude reminder for any institution about the implications of not carrying valid accreditation information, more so if the details on websites or college publications can be misinterpreted to mislead stakeholders. The move by NAAC for swift action and a show cause notice also signals a likely regulator crackdown on any such claims in future. The timing is also crucial given recent media reports, the security environment and trust deficit facing the education system.
For now, it is a race against time for Al‑Falah University to withdraw all misleading information on its website and other publications, and provide a formal response to NAAC’s notice. It will then be up to NAAC to decide on the next course of action which could see it recommend the university for blacklisting from future accreditation and any punitive recommendations against it to other statutory regulators.
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