The first official (union HRD ministry) league tables ranking the Top 100 category ‘A’ Indian universities, engineering colleges and B-schools were released in New Delhi on April 4. Based on a National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) devised by a 16-member “core committee” of academics constituted by the Union human resource development ministry in October 2014, the first-ever government league tables evaluated category ‘A’ higher education institutions on six parameters, viz, teaching, learning and resources; research and professional practices; graduation outcomes; outreach and inclusivity; perception. Although HRD ministry sources claim that the NIRF framework, based mainly on hard data plus perception, is superior to the overwhelmingly perception-based surveys of media publications (including EducationWorld), the ministry’s first official rankings are less than credible. In the universities league table, while the #1 rank is predictably awarded to the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and is in line with most media surveys, the ranking of Tezpur University (#4) above Delhi U has invited derision. Ditto the rankings of Aligarh University (#10) and Viswa Bharati, Kolkata (sic) at #11. Moreover, the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), a centre of excellence under the Union ministry of commerce and industry but not a university, has been ranked #81. Consequently, there’s been a war of letters between the two ministries. While compiling the engineering and B-school league tables, the NIRF rankings have played it safe by ranking all IITs headed by IIT-Madras, and the IIMs headed by IIM-Bangalore, among the Top 10. However the #19 rank of the Indian Institute of Technology-Mandi above the College of Engineering, Pune (estb.1848) and PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore has aroused widespread criticism. Ditto in the B-schools league table, the #15 rank of Thiagarajar School of Management, Madurai, above the transnational S.P. Jain Institute of Management & Research (#16), Mumbai and Vellore Institute of Management (#17) has raised eyebrows among informed monitors of Indian higher education. Responding to widespread criticism of its inaugural ranking, the HRD ministry constituted a nine-member committee under the chairmanship of higher education secretary, V.S. Oberoi, on April 25. According to HRD ministry sources, the new committee will review the ranking methodology, rationalise the parameters, and establish a permanent NIRF cell within the NBA (National Board of Accreditation). The ready willingness of Union HRD minister Smriti Irani to admit mistakes and constitute a review committee, has impressed some monitors of higher education. “The HRD ministry’s idea to establish NIRF league tables is a positive step in the right direction. Admittedly, it will take some more time before NIRF rankings match the credibility of Shanghai Jiao Tong or QS. Yet this is a welcome initiative towards putting order into the totally confused and muddled rankings systems prevalent in India so far,” says Dr. Yaj Medury, vice chancellor of Bennett University and former chairman & managing director of EdCIL (a government of India enterprise under the HRD ministry offering consultancy and technical services in education). Likewise, Delhi’s academic community has welcomed the HRD ministry’s initiative to rate and rank…
