Colleges in Bihar fair poorly when it comes to getting a seal from the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (Naac).

Out of 260 constituent colleges in the state that receive grants from the state government and University Grants Commission (UGC), only 31 colleges are Naac-accredited.

Patna University has only two colleges - Patna Women's College and Magadh Mahila College - which are Naac-accredited. Patna College, which is the oldest in the state, and Patna Science College are considered as the premier institutions for science education. However, even they are not Naac accredited.

Sources said colleges that fail to get Naac accreditation by next year would not receive funds from the UGC and Rashtrita Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA).

M.N. Sinha, a senior teacher at Patna Science College, said: "The college is working hard to get the Naac accreditation. By the end of this year, the college will submit its report to Naac-Bangalore."

After the report is submitted, a team from Bangalore will visit the institution and go through the various academic and infrastructure facilities available.

The Naac team will then submit its report to the Naac office in Bangalore on the basis of which the college would get its grade.

Even the state education department is concerned about the Naac accreditation in state colleges.

Shivesh Ranjan, officer on special duty in the education department, said: "The department has held meetings with several university officials and college principals." There are some universities such as Veer Kunwar Singh University, which have no colleges that are Naac accredited.

A senior teacher at Patna College, on condition of anonymity, said: "One of the major parameters for getting Naac accreditation is the ratio between number of students to teachers. Many colleges in Patna University suffer from severe shortage in number of teachers." Patna University has a total of 340 teachers against 28,000 students.

The teacher went on to add that in order to get Naac grade, a particular college has to prepare a self-study report (SSR). The institution has to upload the SSR on its website, and submit 10 copies of the same to Naac Bangalore.

The senior teacher said: "There are several colleges under Patna University that lack such facilities. The college administrations are thus not too sure about getting Naac accreditation."