The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has topped the national ranking of higher institutes released by the HRD Ministry on Monday. Delhi University’s Miranda House has been ranked the best among colleges across the country and the prestigious St Stephen’s College ranked fourth. 

The fourth edition of the Indian rankings based on the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) 2019 was announced by President Ram Nath Kovind on Monday.

Of the top 10 institutes, seven are IITs. Among the top 10 colleges, six are from Delhi University which includes Hindu (2nd), Lady Shri Ram College (5), SRCC (7) and Hansraj College (9).  Others in the list are Presidency College and Madras Christian College. The HRD Ministry has been publishing the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) since 2016.

Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and the Banaras Hindu University ranked have been ranked seventh and 10th respectively. The Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, and IIT-Delhi came at second and third in the list, respectively. AIIMS is the top-ranking institution in medical sciences.

Speaking on the occasion, the President said recent expansion of higher education in India has widened access and improved equity. “Even so, quality remains a concern. While there are islands of excellence, both in the public and private sectors, overall standards are uneven.  As our higher education infrastructure continues to grow and enrolment rises, it is important to raise the bar. A nuanced approach is essential to ensure that higher education not only fulfils individual aspirations, but also achieves national goals and priorities,” he said at the award function.

A total of 3,127 institutions participated in the ranking process under overall rankings, category-specific and domain specific ranking. In all, 4,867 applications for rankings were made by the 3,127 applicant institutions under various categories and domains.

A closer look at the institutions ranked in overall category reveal that although the Central Government funded institutions continue to do well, some of the deemed-to-be universities, State-funded and private universities too appear prominently.

Science, engineering and technological institutes dominate the ranking in overall category with as many as 23 institutes in the list. IIM Kolkata is the only management institute that could find a place in the first 50 in the overall category. IISER Pune and HBNI, Mumbai are a few new institutions which could claim a slot in top 50 in the overall category.

Among the management colleges, top six ranks have been retained by Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), led by Bengaluru. IIT-Delhi, Mumbai and Roorkee are also among the top 10 in the category. Jamia Hamdard has been announced as the top varsity for pharmacy, while National Law School of India University, Bengaluru, has been adjudged as the best law school.

The ranking framework instituted in 2016 evaluates institutions on five broad generic groups of parameters, including Teaching, Learning and Resources (TLR), Research and Professional Practice (RP), Graduation Outcomes (GO), Outreach and Inclusivity (OI) and Perception (PR).