Page 18 - EW October 2025

Education News

DELHI of government-promoted HEIs.
Unconvincing rankings Moreover, the NIRF ranking

methodology is suspect. It is based
upon data and claims of achieve-
ment submitted by HEIs themselves.
Therefore, there is widespread
suspicion that data submitted by
government HEIs is exaggerated
and over-claimed, with little fear
of retribution for self-promotional
inaccuracies. On the other hand,
private HEIs apprehending close
scrutiny, tend to be modest about
their achievements. This perhaps
explains why several private univer-
sities such as Ashoka, O.P. Jindal,
Krea, among other top-ranked HEIs
in the annual EducationWorld India
Higher Education Rankings (EWI-
HER, estb.2013) don’t ‘participate’ in
the annual NIRF survey.
NIRF’s patent bias in favour of
government HEIs is evident in NIRF
he 10th edition of the national NIRF 2025 ranks the country’s 2025. For instance, Amity Univer-
Institutional Ranking Frame- Top 100 higher education institu- sity, Noida, which has established
Twork (NIRF), India’s official tions (HEIs) in an Overall category campuses in 13 countries and has
system for rating India’s Top 100 and 16 other categories (universi- an aggregate enrolment of 37,000
universities under five parameters of ties, colleges, research institutions, students and ranked India #1 among
higher education excellence — teach- engineering, business management, private multidisciplinary universities
ing and learning resources; research pharmacy, medical, dental, law, in EWIHER 2025-26, is ranked #37
and professional practice; graduation architecture, agriculture, innova- in NIRF 2025. Likewise, BITS-Pilani
outcomes; outreach and inclusivity; tion open university, skill universi- (estb.1964), commonly acknowl-
and public perception, plus a new ties, state public universities). This edged as one of the top private en-
SDG (UN Sustainable Development year 7,692 institutions volunteered gineering universities on a par with
Goals) promotion parameter — and (participation is not mandatory), the best IITs and ranked India’s #1
ranking them inter se, provided few submitting prescribed data for private engineering university/col-
surprises. evaluation by the National Board of lege in EWIHER 2025-26, is ranked
IIT-Madras has retained its #1 Accreditation (NBA), a subsidiary of #11 in NIRF 2025 below BHU, IIT
rank in the Overall category for the the All India Council for Technical Guwahati and NIT Tiruchirappalli.
seventh year in succession as also its Education (AICTE). Dissatisfaction with the self-
decade-long dominance in engineer- A notable feature of NIRF 2025 assessment methodology of NIRF is
ing. IIT-M (estb. 1959) is also top is that although 31 private HEIs not restricted to EW editors. In April,
ranked for innovation and under the are ranked among the Overall Top the Madras high court dismissed
new SDG parameter. 100, all top-ranked HEIs are heavily a PIL (public interest litigation)
In the Universities category, the subsidised Central government pro- writ in which the petitioner ques-
Indian Institute of Science, Banga- moted institutions. This despite the tioned the NBA/AICTE’s reliance on
lore (IISc, estb. 1909) is ranked #1 fact that 67.51 percent of universi- self-reported data and prayed for a
for the tenth year and #1 among Top ties and 37.81 percent of colleges are directive prohibiting the education
100 research institutions for the fifth privately promoted and are engaged ministry and NBA from publishing
time. In the business management in tutoring and mentoring 70 percent NIRF 2025 rankings, until the data
category IIM-Ahmedabad is top- of India’s massive contingent of 43 submitted by institutions is veri-
ranked, and AIIMS Delhi maintains million youth enrolled in HEIs. For fied/ cross-checked with government
its dominance among medical educa- years, your editors and several inde- records, audited, and the methodol-
tion institutions despite slipping to pendent monitors of higher educa- ogy disclosed. Although the court
#8 in the Overall league table. tion have been alleging bias in favour declined to admit the petition on

18 EDUCATIONWORLD OCTOBER 2025