K L University, formerly Koneru Lakshmaiah Educational Foundation, is a private research Deemed to be University, located in Vaddeswaram, near Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, India.
Founded in 1980 as Koneru Lakshmaiah College of Engineering, it consists of eight schools, offering academic programs at UG, PG, doctoral, and post-doctoral industry-focused courses.
K. L. Deemed University is ranked 35th among engineering colleges, 46th among overall universities, and 70th in Management by the NIRF 2025 Rankings.
KLEF was established in 1980 at Vaddeswaram as K L College of Engineering (KLCE). 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 (KLEF). In 2019, it was renamed K L Deemed to be University.
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.
KLEF includes the following schools:
In the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) 2024, Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation has been ranked 40th overall in India, 22nd among universities, 79th in the management category, and 35th in engineering.
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: