Page 20 - EW September 2024

Education News

DELHI vate sector Birla Institute of Technol-
Unconvincing rankings ogy & Science, Pilani (BITS-Pilani,

estb.1964), commonly accepted as
the equivalent of the top IITs and
whose alumni include former IISc
director Goverdhan Mehta, Sabeer
Bhatia, co-founder of Hotmail, is
ranked a lowly #23. The unfancied
private sector Amrita School of
Engineering (#18) and Savita School
of Engineering (22) are ranked above
it. Even in the engineering category,
BITS-Pilani is ranked #20 following
all IITs as also Jadavpur University
(12) and S.R.M. Institute of Technol-
ogy (13).
On the other hand, in the Educa-
tionWorld India Higher Education
Rankings (EWIHER) 2024-25 —
which excludes heavily subsidised
government IITs and NITs — BITS-
Pilani is ranked India’s #1 private
NIRF Rankings: patent prejudice engineering university. Moreover
Amity University — India’s top-
he ninth edition of the nirf academic progress. A notable feature ranked private multi-disciplinary
(National Institutional Rank- of the annual NIRF is that participa- university (by EducationWorld and
Ting Framework) 2024 released tion and submission of data in the India Today) which has established
by the Union education ministry on prescribed format is voluntary. Most campuses in 13 countries around the
August 12 has generated consider- new genre private universities top world and has an aggregate enrol-
able excitement in some higher edu- ranked in the annual Education- ment of 37,000 students — is ranked
cation institutions (HEIs), especially World and India Today league tables #49 in NIRF 2024.
government colleges and universi- did not participate. The infirmity of the NIRF Rank-
ties. Several low-profile universities Undoubtedly NIRF 2024 is ings is that participation is voluntary
which have been awarded high rank detailed and elaborate and consider- — unlike in the EducationWorld, In-
in NIRF 2024, have gone to town able effort has been invested by NBA dia Today and other media rankings
with expensive full-page ads in na- (National Board of Accreditation), a which invoking the constitutional
tional dailies. unit of AICTE (All India Council for right to freedom of expression and
This year, a total of 6,500 HEIs Technical Education), a subsidiary of right to evaluate institutions open
submitted data to the Union educa- the Union education ministry, which to the public — rank all sufficiently
tion ministry to be ranked in NIRF has assessed the data and finalised well-known HEIs without inviting
2024. All of them submitted data in the rankings. However the NIRF participation.
prescribed formats to become eli- league tables have not resonated HEIs that participate in NIRF are
gible for inclusion in NIRF’s ‘overall’ with the public because it is patently obliged to submit dozens of data sets
Top 100 league table and in each prejudiced in favour of government in prescribed formats for evaluation
category — colleges, universities, HEIs, and biased against private of the quality of their teaching, learn-
research, engineering and business institutions which dominate higher ing and research capabilities. The
management. education and provide good, bad and identity of assessors is not known
They were assessed under five indifferent learning to 70 percent and although participating institu-
broad parameters — teaching, learn- of the country’s 43 million youth in tions are warned that the informa-
ing and resources; research and higher education. tion submitted by them is subject
professional practice; graduation The Top 17 HEIs in the Overall to cross-checking and audit, the
outcomes; outreach and inclusivity Top 100 category are government assessment process permits a high
and public perception — with institu- promoted/funded institutions head- degree of subjectivity. Unsurpris-
tions in each discipline required to ed by five IITs and Indian Institute ingly, a large number of top-ranked
submit documentary evidence of of Science (IISc), Bengaluru. The pri- private HEIs — O.P. Jindal and

20 EDUCATIONWORLD SEPTEMBER 2024