5 TN colleges get A grade

COIMBATORE: Five arts and science colleges in Tamil Nadu have bagged the top ‘A’ Grade from the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) in the latest accreditation/ re-accreditation exercise.Of these, four institutions were re-accredited after the expiry of their original accreditation, and one college was accredited for the first time. An accreditation is valid for a period of five years.“The 59th executive committee meeting of NAAC met in Bangalore on Saturday and released the findings of the peer teams which had visited 104 higher educational institutions across the country in the last few months,” a senior NAAC official told Express. Of this, 68 colleges and two universities were accredited for the first time, and 36 colleges and a university were re-accredited.Topping the list of ‘A’ Grade colleges from the State is Women’s Christian College, a reputable autonomous institution in Chennai, which has bagged an impressive Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 3.43 during the re-accreditation exercise. Second in the list of the ‘A’ Grade colleges from Tamil Nadu is the Tiruchy-based St Joseph’s College, an autonomous institution that had applied for re-accreditation and secured a CGPA of 3.40.The CGPA is awarded on a four-point basis. Any institution which receives a CGPA of 3 or above is awarded the ‘A’ Grade. Colleges which secure a CGPA between 2 and 2.99 are awarded the ‘B’ Grade.The NAAC awards the ‘C’ and ‘D’ grades for institutions scoring a CGPA below 2 and 1 respectively.“Hajee Karutha Rowther Howdia College in Theni (CGPA of 3.26) and the Sri S Ramasamy Naidu Memorial College in Virudhunagar (3.22) are the other two colleges which have secured the ‘A’ Grade,” the NAAC official said.The Chennai-based Alpha Arts and Science College, which had applied for accreditation for the first time, has also bagged the ‘A’ Grade with a CGPA of 3.14.Five other colleges, including one which was re-accredited, were awarded the ‘B’ Grade. Institutions that were accredited with ‘B’ Grade are: Noorul Islam College of Arts and Science in Kanyakumari (2.66); Valliammal College for Women in Chennai (2.61); Raadhaa College of Education in Dharmapuri (2.35), and Jaya College of Education in Chennai (2.26).The Asan Memorial College of Arts and Science in Chennai was re-accredited with a CGPA score of 2.87.