KL University

K L University, formerly Koneru Lakshmaiah College of Engineering and Koneru Lakshmaiah University, is a higher educational institution Deemed to be University, located in Vaddeswaram, near Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, India. Established in 1980 as a college of engineering, it consists of eight schools, offering academic programs at UG, PG, doctoral, and post-doctoral industry-focused courses.
As of 2025, the university has been barred from NAAC accreditation for 5 years after reports of bribing the assessor team to receive favourable ranking.

History

KLEF was established in 1980 at Vaddeswaram as K L College of Engineering. It became autonomous in 2006 and was recognized as deemed to be university in 2009, known as K L University. Following the University Grants Commission's warning to 123 deemed institutes, not to use "university" in the name it was renamed Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation. In 2019, it was renamed K L Deemed to be University.

Location

Koneru Lakshmaiah Deemed to be University is situated in a site adjacent to Buckingham Canal, and is about from Vijayawada in Krishna district and from Guntur. The university is in Guntur district.

Schools

KLEF includes the following schools:

K L College of Engineering
K L School of Science & Humanities
K L School of Architecture
K L School of Management
K L School of Fine Arts
K L School of Commerce
K L School of Pharmacy
K L School of Law
K L School of Agriculture
Center for Distance and Online Education
Rankings

In the National Institutional Ranking Framework 2024, Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation has been ranked 40th overall in India, 22nd among universities, 79th in the management category, and 35th in engineering.

Controversies

NAAC rating bribery case

KL University became the center of a bribery investigation after the Central Bureau of Investigation arrested the chairman and six members of a National Assessment and Accreditation Council Inspection Committee on 1 February 2025. The arrests were made over allegations that bribes were paid to secure a favorable NAAC accreditation rating. The CBI conducted raids across 20 locations in India, including Chennai, Bangalore, and New Delhi, recovering in cash, gold, mobile phones, and laptops.
The alleged bribery was traced back to office bearers of KL University, leading to the arrest of several key individuals linked to the institution, including:

G P Saradhi Varma – Vice-Chancellor, Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation, Guntur
Koneru Raja Hareen – Vice-President, KLEF
A Ramakrishna – Director, KL University, Hyderabad campus