India, April 5 -- For decades, the Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics (GIPE) in Pune stood as a beacon of academic excellence in India, producing economists and policymakers of national repute. However, its recent downgrade by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) to a 'B' grade with a score of 2.49 out of 4 has triggered alarm among students, faculty, and the academic community at large.

This steep decline in accreditation-after having secured an 'A+' with 97.4 out of 100 in 2004 and 'A' with a CGPA of 3.07 out of 4 in 2016-has not occurred in isolation. It is the result of a series of governance failures, leadership turmoil, and administrative missteps that have plagued GIPE over the past few years.

The NAA...