The overall performance is satisfactory, though there?s room for improvement in certain areas.

That forms the crux of the opinion of a National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) team on Presidency College, on Day I of its three-day inspection of the institution.

?Presidency College, one of the oldest undergraduate institutions in the country, has made tremendous contribution to higher education,? S.P. Thyagrajan, head of the four-member team and vice-chancellor of Madras University, said on Monday. ?The performance of most of the departments we visited today was satisfactory. But we will definitely suggest improvement in some areas.?

Preferring not to pinpoint the weaknesses at this stage, he added: ?The institution needs to adopt newer approaches to bring novelty in its teaching techniques.?

The college, he pointed out, has performed brilliantly in research. ?Very few undergraduate institutions have excelled in research. We are happy with the outstanding achievement of the college.?

The team also appreciated the fact that several teachers have a brilliant academic record. The departments inspected on Monday included chemistry, economics, sociology, political science, Bengali and Hindi.

Based on the panel?s report, to be submitted at the end of the inspection, NAAC will grade Presidency.

The Centre has made NAAC ranking mandatory for all institutions of higher learning willing to avail of its funds. The inspection at Presidency was long overdue, thanks to the reluctance of the state government, which directly controls the college.

According to rules, NAAC inspection has to be preceded by a self-study report of the college.

Sources said the government had been delaying submission of the report, fearing a below-par marking for Presidency, considered to be one of the best undergraduate institutions in the country.

After Presidency, NAAC will inspect 16 state-controlled institutions, including Lady Brabourne College and Bidhannagar Government College.