Page 35 - EW April 2023

TOP 10 ARTS, SCIENCE & COMMERCE COLLEGES

PRIVATE AUTONOMOUS GOVERNMENT AUTONOMOUS NON-AUTONOMOUS

1 St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai 1 Maharaja’s College, Ernakulam, Kochi 1 St. Stephen’s College, Delhi
2 St. Joseph’s College (Autonomous), 2 Government Degree College for Women, 2 Shri Ram College of Commerce, Delhi
Bengaluru Begumpet, Hyderabad 3 Lady Shri Ram College for Women, Delhi
3 Mount Carmel College, Bengaluru 3 Presidency College, Chennai 4 Hindu College, Delhi
3 Mithibai College, Mumbai 4 Government Science College, 5 Miranda House, Delhi
4 Narsee Monjee College of Commerce & Nrupathunga Road, Bengaluru 6 Hansraj College, Delhi
Economics, Mumbai 5 Yuvaraja’s College, Mysuru 6 Kirori Mal College, Delhi
4 St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata 6 Maharani’s Science College for Women, 7 Sri Venkateswara College, Delhi
5 Loyola College, Chennai Mysuru 8 Jesus & Mary College, Delhi
6 RA Podar College of Commerce & 7 Sarojini Naidu Government Girls 9 KPB Hinduja College of Commerce,
Economics, Mumbai PG College, Bhopal Mumbai
6 KJ Somaiya College of Arts and 8 Government Holkar (Model Autonomous)
Commerce, Mumbai Science College, Indore 10 University College of Arts & Social
Sciences, Osmania University

7 Madras Christian College, Chennai 9 Government VYT PG Autonomous 10 Barrackpore Rastraguru Surendranath
8 St. Joseph’s College, Trichy College, Durg College, Kolkata
8 Stella Maris College, Chennai 10 Kanchi Mamunivar Government Institute
9 Nagindas Khandwala College, Malad (W), for Postgraduate Studies and Research,
Mumbai Lawspet, Puducherry
9 St. Francis College for Women, latest NIRF rankings 2022, BITS-
Hyderabad Pilani is ranked #32 — below Aligarh
10 Rajagiri College of Social Sciences, Kochi
10 BK Birla College of Arts, Science & mandated by the Kasturirangan Com- Muslim University (#19), Bharathiar
Commerce, Kalyan, Mumbai mittee Report on which NEP 2020 is University, Coimbatore (24) and Savi-
10 Dr. NGP Arts and Science College, based, sounds like mission impos- tribai Phule University, Pune (25), ex
Coimbatore sible. Most likely, positions in these facie a ridiculous pecking order. Yet
high-sounding committees and com- not a squeak of protest from BITS-
missions will be filled by ruling party Pilani’s top brass.
cause it’s been known for years if not faithfuls put out to pasture and not In these circumstances, the most
decades, that good NAAC grades could immune to well-phrased inducements. reliable HEI rankings are those com-
be obtained for consideration. Visiting Be that as it may, it’s highly unlike- piled by independent private media
NAAC assembled task forces compris- ly that parents/school-leavers search- publications. Leading newspapers
ing retired vice chancellors and senior ing for suitable colleges or universities and magazines including India Today,
academics — whose costs of inspec- are substantialy influenced by NAAC Hindustan Times, Business Today etc
tion are paid by the assessee institu- ratings. Even the education establish- publish league tables rating colleges
tion — are routinely wined, dined and ment has scant respect for NAAC. and universities under several param-
more by the assessee HEIs for high Since it was established in 1994, a eters and rank them inter se.
grades. Ditto teams from AICTE and mere 9,062 of India’s 43,796 under- However these are news publica-
UGC. Indeed as emphasised by your grad colleges and 418 of the country’s tions with peripheral interest in edu-
editors in several critiques of the Na- 1,113 universities have signed up for cation. Therefore, it is submitted that
tional Education Policy (NEP) 2020 NAAC accreditation. Certainly none the annual EducationWorld In-
which mandates establishment of of the new genre private universities dia Higher Education Rankings
a plethora of official committees to (Ashoka, Amity, Jindal Global etc) (EWIHER), first introduced in 2013,
supervise higher education — HECI, has bothered about acquiring NAAC which meticulously make fine distinc-
NAC, NHER, HEGC and GEC — while accreditation. tions between HEIs to avoid apples
at the same time mandating institu- Nor is NIRF (National Institutional and oranges type comparisons, are the
tional autonomy, there is an inherent Ranking Framework), the latest Union best and most reliable rankings avail-
contradiction in NEP 2020 which may education ministry initiative to rank able for parents and school-leaving
prove a fatal flaw of the policy. India’s best universities, any more students. In this connection, it should
With the education establish- credible. For instance BITS-Pilani, also be borne in mind that the annual
ment and bureaucracy thoroughly commonly accepted as a private en- EW India School Rankings intro-
compromised, finding individuals of gineering and science university on a duced in 2007, have acquired a gold-
“unimpeachable integrity” to man par with the IITs, is routinely ranked en reputation as the largest and most
these committees and commissions below low-profile universities. In the comprehensive schools ranking league

APRIL 2023 EDUCATIONWORLD 35