A view of National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) campus. Photo used for representation purpose only | Photo Credit: The Hindu         The scandal involving Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation (KLEF) in Andhra Pradesh, as part of which bribes were offered to the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) for favourable ranking has prompted significant changes in the grading agency. The NAAC plans to phase out the practice of physical data verification by expert panels, based on the recommendations of the Radhakrishnan Committee’s report submitted last year. In Andhra Pradesh, where the bribery scam surfaced, stakeholders admit to a ‘pervasive culture of offering gifts’ to the inspecting teams of the accrediting body. NAAC team members and the institutions of higher education bypass rules, with the ‘above-normal hospitality’ being offered that includes organising special events, arranging sightseeing and most importantly, offering gifts to the inspection teams for favourable ranking. “It has become a necessary evil and everybody is forced to entertain this for fear of losing out in the rank race,” admits a former office-bearer of Andhra …