Page 46 - EducationWorld January 2023

Cover Story

PRIVATE VARSITIES CATALYSING

SEA CHANGE IN

HIGHER EDUCATION

A spate of new genre private universities enabled by state
government legislation and led by brilliant academics with
excellent project management and leadership skills are
generating overdue stir within the shady bowers of Indian
academia

Dilip Thakore

I N THE LATEST (NOVEMBER) WORLD Univer- JSS Academy of Higher Education & Research, Mysuru and

sity Rankings (WUR) 2023 of the London-
Shoolini University of Biotechnology & Management, Solan
(Himachal Pradesh) awarded 351-400 ranking.
based Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) and Times
On the other hand, China’s Peking University is ranked
Higher Education (THE), the authoritative
rating/evaluation agencies of higher educa-
#12 and Tsinghua University #14 by QS with eight Chinese
tion institutions worldwide, India’s most re-
puted universities which top domestic league
THE WUR league table 11 Chinese universities are ranked
in the Top 200. Moreover several South-east Asian univer-
tables, including the Union education min- universities ranked among the QS global Top 200. In the
istry’s NIRF (National Institutional Ranking sities including Seoul National, Yonsei, Korea Academy of
Framework), the annual EducationWorld India Higher Science & Technology and five others are ranked among the
Education Rankings (EWIHER), India Today rankings, THE Top 200 as are four in Japan. In the QS WUR 2023,
among others, are ranked way down near bottom. eight South Korean universities are ranked among the Top
In the QS WUR, only three Indian universities — the 200 cf. India’s three and ten in Japan. Even Malaysia, a
Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore (IISc, estb.1909); late-comer in higher education, has four universities in the
Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B, estb.1958) QS Top 200 league table. Against this, it’s pertinent to note
and Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi (IIT-D, estb.1961) that the Indian Institute of Science was established in 1909,
are ranked among the Top 200 worldwide in that order with and the Bombay, Madras and Calcutta universities admit-
IISc ranked #155. In the THE global league table which ted their first batches in 1857.
gives greater weightage to research and citations, IISc is Clearly, successive governments in New Delhi and state
awarded a ranking of 251-300 (institutions ranked below capitals — all the Indian universities listed above are public,
the Top 200 are not awarded a precise rank) followed by the i.e, government administered institutions of higher learn-

46 EDUCATIONWORLD JANUARY 2023