Valuable guide

Congratulations EducationWorld for publishing India’s best private and government universities rankings tables (EW April). I fully appreciate the rigorous methodology, drawing on the knowledge of higher education faculty, college students and industry leaders. My compliments also for the apposite parameters on which universities are ranked, including competence of faculty, research and innovation, industry interface, infrastructure, and placements.

Overall, the Top 400 universities league table is a valuable guide for aspiring students and their parents to make well-informed higher education choices.

Shruthi Peter, Kochi

Separate & distinct

Many thanks to Raymond Ravaglia for piloting the revealing ‘America’s Best Undergrad Education Universities’ feature (EW April).

It is very educative to learn that conventional international rankings of universities that highlight research output, citations and endowment corpus, are inaccurate indicators of undergraduate education excellence. The parameters that matter in undergraduate admissions are teaching focus, class size, experiential learning, and economic outcomes.

This nuanced framework offers students and parents a clearer, more relevant assessment of America’s best undergrad colleges which are separate and distinct from usually top-ranked American universities. A brilliant, well-argued feature!

Shreya Mathur, Gurugram

Resonating profile

Your People profile of Vidya Jayaraman ‘Maths Phobia Banisher’ (EW April) deeply resonated with me as I have personally struggled with fear of mathematics throughout my childhood. Your story draws much-needed attention to ‘math phobia’ and offers hope that child-friendly pedagogies children can overcome this phobia and enable children to discover their true potential.

At the same time, I strongly believe that school managements and teachers must play a more empathetic role in creating stress-free, supportive environments to address this challenge. Research studies have consistently maintained that a child’s emotional state directly impacts his/her ability to learn.

Prajwal Gowda, Bengaluru

NCERT autonomy

Your Delhi education news ‘Suspect autonomy’ which analyses the NCERT textbooks controversy, exposes troubling tensions between academic freedom and political interference. It highlights how textbook revisions — marked by arbitrary omissions — undermine institutional credibility and raise legitimate concerns about ideological interference from the ruling party.

It rightly underscores the urgent need to safeguard the autonomy of NCERT and ensure that curricular decisions are transparent, evidence-based, and free from political influence.

Sowrabh Tripathi via email

Timely reminder

Georgie Ross’ thoughtful Teacher-2-Teacher essay ‘Oracy: A Skill Artificial Intelligence Cannot Replace’ (EW April) is a timely reminder of the irreplaceable value of human communication. It insightfully argues that while AI can process information with speed and precision, it cannot replicate the nuance, empathy, and spontaneity of spoken interaction.

Ross persuasively advocates oracy as a foundational life skill that develops critical thinking, confidence, and meaningful social engagement — qualities machines inherently lack.

By emphasising these qualities, she has drawn attention to the need for education to go beyond academics and nurture confident, articulate individuals. I hope educators recognise and promote oral communication and debate skills in children.

Divya Bannerjee via e-mail

Vital transition

Your Expert Comment essay ‘From Jugaad to Disciplined Frugal Innovation’ (EW April) brilliantly captures evolution of the Indian jugaad spirit — moving from ad-hoc, makeshift ‘hacks’ to a more structured, disciplined, and scalable engineering approach.

This transition is vital for India to move beyond temporary quick fixes and lead the global market with high-quality, cost-effective solutions that are sustainable and reproducible. By highlighting how we can retain our innate jugaad ingenuity while infusing it with professional rigour and systematic design, this essay provides a timely and clear roadmap for the nation’s future entrepreneurs and educators.

Kinny Joseph, Delhi