Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan released the NIRF Rankings 2021 on September 9 through a webcast. The Indian Institute of Technology, Madras remained at the top continuously for a third year.
The parameters of teaching, learning and resources, graduation outcomes, outreach and inclusivity and perception are taken into consideration for judging the institutions. Ranks are assigned based on the scores secured for these parameters by the academic institutions of the country. The NIRF Rankings, which were launched by the Government in 2016, are the efforts to judge the efficiency and performance of the Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs).
Prior to this, the HEIs were ranked by private news magazines which were not taken seriously by the stakeholders. To add credibility to the rankings and encourage the HEIs to perform well, the Government has taken the task of ranking them.
The response is visible with around 6,000 institutions having participated in the rankings this year which is twice the number of 2016. Institutions are ranked in 11 categories like overall national ranking, universities, engineering, college, medical, management, pharmacy, law, architecture, dental and research.
In overall national ranking, four institutions from Odisha found their places in the top 100. In 2020 also, four HEIs of Odisha had found places in the top 100. Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan University improved its place from 38th rank in 2020 to 37th rank in 2021. Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) raised its rank from 44th in 2020 to 39th in 2021.
National Institute of Technology (NIT), Rourkela slipped from 32nd rank in 2020 to 41st in 2021 and Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar slipped two places from 56th rank in 2020 to 58th rank in 2021.
In the universities category, three Odisha HEIs figured in the top 100 in 2020 and 2021. Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan was placed at 20th rank in 2020 and also in 2021, there by maintained the status.
The Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) improved its position from 24 in 2020 to 21 in 2021 and Utkal University which was placed at 96 in the top 100 universities list of 2020 improved its position to 87 in 2021. The question before the academia is whether these rankings are helpful to the stakeholders. Different ranking bodies across the world publish the rankings of universities basing on different criteria which differ from one ranking institute to another.
The World University Rankings, Shanghai Ranking’s Academic Ranking of World Universities, QS World University Rankings, CWTS Leiden Ranking, Ranking Web of Universities, US New Best Global University Rankings, SC Imago Institutions Rankings and Reuters Top 100: The world’s most innovative universities, NTU rankings are some of the popular ranking bodies.
Times Higher Education (THE) conducts the rankings of universities worldwide and hardly our institutions find a place in the top 100. In its 2022 rankings which covered 1,600 universities from 99 countries University of Oxford from the United Kingdom retained its first rank for the sixth consecutive year. Indian Institute of Science at 301-350 is the only Indian institute in the top 350. Indian Institute of Technology, Ropar was placed in the 351-400 brackets.
Ten Indian universities including BHU, JNU, Delhi Technology University, Jamia Millia Islamia and Punjab University secured places in the 601-800 ranks. University of Delhi found a place in the 801-1000 bracket.
The parameters taken into consideration for evaluation of the institutions are Teaching, Research, Citations, International Outlook and Industry Income.
In the QS World University Rankings 2022 which assessed 1,300 universities around the world placed Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) at the top followed by University of Oxford and Stanford University in the second and third positions, respectively. In Asia Region, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay was placed at 177 rank; Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi was placed at 185 rank followed by Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru at 186 rank.
Some opine that these rankings differ from ranking institution to institution as their evaluation parameters are different. Some others say there is no justification in comparing an old established institution with a new one. Another view which goes against the rankings is that competition among the academic institutions is not wise as they impact the quality of teaching.
In the QS World University Rankings 2022, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) stands at the top whereas Times Higher Education (THE) places University of Oxford from United Kingdom in the first rank. In QS World University Rankings 2022, Indian Institute of Science placed after IIT Bombay and IIT Delhi but our NIRF ranks IIT, Madras at the top. Our IITs which were highly placed in NIRF rankings boycotted THE Ranking citing lack of transparency in their ranking process.
Looking at the other side of the coin, these rankings provide the list of top universities and provide necessary information to the prospective students who can make a rational judgement.
The goodwill of the institutions will be enhanced which ultimately help the students in their employment opportunities. Placement organisations are also attracted to contact and visit the institution for their human resources requirement. Industry will also look forward to proper linkages with the top-ranked institutes.
Funding opportunities from the Government and industry will flow based on the rankings. The institutions which are placed at the lower ranks will strive to go higher. Moreover, irrespective the ranking, an university gets an opportunity to evaluate its own weaknesses and strengths to chalk out the future strategy.
The rankings encourage the institutions to make bold steps for the best benefit of their students. In simple, rankings motivate the institutions for positive changes. To conclude, rankings of our educational institutions possess many benefits as well as disadvantages. It is better to utilise its pros and overlook the cons so that a healthy and balanced outcome can be reaped by the institutions and other stakeholders.
(Dr Biswal is Head, Department of Commerce, Nowrangpur College, Nabarangpur-764063. Mob: 9437125286, bhaskarnathbiswal@gmail.com)