Valuable rankings

Congratulations to the EducationWorld team for the enormous effort taken to publish the well-curated EW India Higher Education Rankings 2026-27 (EW May), rating and ranking India’s Best Arts, Science and Commerce colleges nationally and in the states. What makes these rankings particularly valuable is the strong emphasis on qualitative parameters such as faculty competence, curriculum and pedagogy, placements, infrastructure, and leadership/governance.

In an era when students are overwhelmed by fake information and promotional claims, this comprehensive ranking framework serves as a useful compass for informed decision-making for students and parents. It’s a thoughtful, transparent, and highly relevant contribution to India’s evolving higher education ecosystem.

Shamitha C Shetty

Bengaluru

Include fees details

As a parent of a class XII student preparing to enter college, I believe one important element is missing from your otherwise comprehensive EW India Higher Education Rankings 2026-27. The rankings would become more student-friendly if they included an indicative range of annual tuition fees. With the cost of higher education rising steeply, transparent fee information would enable students and parents to make informed decisions based not only on academic reputation, but also affordability.

Bharathi V.C.

Hyderabad

Proud moment

I extend my sincere gratitude to EducationWorld for including RNG Patel Institute of Technology, Bardoli, among India’s best engineering colleges at the EW India Higher Rankings Awards 2026-27 event in Delhi. It was a proud moment for us all. The awards event was meticulously organised, well-structured, and seamlessly executed.

I particularly appreciated the opportunity to interact with distinguished academics and professionals from various universities and institutions, which made the experience even more enriching.

Shri Babubhai Vanmalibhai Patel

Chairman, RNG Patel Institute of Technology, Bardoli

Timely AI advice

Your Teacher-2-Teacher essay ‘What students should do when AI prompts back’ (EW May) is a timely analysis of how students need to engage with artificial intelligence responsibly and intelligently. Author Sumanth Prabhu notes that the true value of AI is not in generating instant answers but in prompting students to think critically, ask better questions, and refine their own perspectives.

He acknowledges the risks of overdependence on AI while recognising its immense educational potential when used ethically and creatively. Students need to be encouraged to retain originality, judgement, and intellectual ownership — qualities that technology cannot replace.

Dipika Bose

Kolkata

Big disconnect

K.B. Kumar’s Expert Comment ‘Engineering education for employability’ (EW May) rightly emphasises the importance of industry-aligned engineering education, but several deeper concerns influencing employability also deserve attention. A critical issue is the wide disparity in the quality of engineering institutions. While premier colleges uphold strong academic and research standards, many others struggle with outdated infrastructure, inadequately trained faculty, and limited practical training.

There’s also a big disconnect between student aspirations and the realities of engineering education. Most colleges fail to provide meaningful exposure to real-world engineering practice, entrepreneurship, interdisciplinary learning, and product development. With companies increasingly reluctant to invest in training fresh graduates, internships, apprenticeships, and industry-linked projects have become indispensable in engineering education.

Lalitha Jason

Mumbai

Look beyond America

As much as I appreciated EW’s ranking of ‘America’s Best Undergraduate Education Universities’ (EW April), there’s wide uncertainty about the situation in the US with threats of deportation, lack of visa support, and job insecurity hanging over foreign students.

Indian students are now looking beyond the US for higher education. Perhaps next time, you could widen your ambit to rank universities in other foreign countries.

Koel Maitra

DELHI