Page 35 - EW May 2025

TOP 10 ARTS, SCIENCE & COMMERCE COLLEGES

PRIVATE AUTONOMOUS GOVERNMENT AUTONOMOUS NON-AUTONOMOUS

1 St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai 1 Government Degree College for Women, 1 St. Stephen’s College, Delhi
2 Mount Carmel College, Bengaluru Begumpet, Hyderabad 2 Shri Ram College of Commerce, Delhi
3 St. Joseph’s College (Autonomous), 2 Presidency College, Chennai 3 Lady Shri Ram College for Women, Delhi
Bengaluru 3 Maharaja’s College, Kochi, Ernakulam 4 Miranda House, Delhi
3 Narsee Monjee College of Commerce & 4 Maharani’s Science College for Women, 5 Hindu College, Delhi
Economics, Mumbai Mysuru 6 Kirori Mal College, Delhi
4 Mithibai College, Mumbai 5 Sri Meenakshi Government Arts College 7 Hansraj College, Delhi
5 St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata for Women, Madurai 8 Sri Venkateswara College, Delhi
5 Nagindas Khandwala College, Malad (W), 6 Government Holkar (Model Autonomous) 9 Jesus & Mary College, Delhi
Mumbai Science College, Indore 9 Barrackpore Rastraguru Surendranath
6 RA Podar College of Commerce & 7 Smt. Sarladevi Satishchandra Agarwal College, Kolkata
Economics, Mumbai Government First Grade College, Bellary 10 University College of Arts & Social
6 Loyola College, Chennai 7 Sarojini Naidu Government Girls PG Sciences, Osmania University, Hyderabad

College, Bhopal
6 BK Birla College of Arts, Science &
Commerce, Kalyan, Mumbai 8 Yuvaraja’s College, Mysuru
7 KJ Somaiya College of Arts and 9 Government College, Anantapur (Andhra
Commerce, Mumbai Pradesh)
8 St. Francis College for Women, Hyderabad 10 Government VYT PG Autonomous
College, Durg (Chhattisgarh)

8 Madras Christian College, Chennai
9 KPB Hinduja College of Commerce, Pilani among engineering colleges and
Mumbai #19 among universities in NIRF 2024.
10 Presidency College, Bengaluru We wrote: “The low rank awarded to
10 Stella Maris College, Chennai BITS-Pilani in NIRF rankings has
been repeatedly criticised by your
editors (NB. Neither BITS-Pilani nor
Grants Commission (UGC), awards 9, Dr. Anil Sahasrabudhe, chairman of the Birla Group advertise in EW) as
its A-E star ratings to colleges and NAAC, announced that following this indicative of flawed NIRF methodol-
universities that opt for assessment, contretemps, the Bangalore-based ogy based on institutional self-assess-
NAAC doesn’t — and never did — in- NAAC has weeded out 20 percent of ment. On March 27, in response to a
spire much confidence. Even though it its approved academic assessors on PIL (public interest litigation) writ,
was established in 1994, thus far only the recommendation of a ten-member the Madurai Bench of the Madras
9,062 colleges and universities have Special Committee. high court issued a stay order on the
volunteered for NAAC accreditation. The other official HEIs rankings ministry from publishing NIRF 2025.
Hardly surprising. First colleges/ initiative is the Union education min- The PIL alleged “data manipulation
universities that apply for accredi- istry’s NIRF (National Institutional and lack of transparency in the NIRF
tation are obliged to pay a fee of Ranking Framework) introduced in ranking process”.”
Rs.25,000 to NAAC, and also bear 2015. Although it is often cited by Moreover, excellent HEIs which
the travel and other expenses of task some HEIs as proof of university ex- routinely rank high in the annual
forces of academics constituted by cellence, ab initio NIRF has drawn EWIHER — O.P. Jindal Global
NAAC to inspect applicant HEIs. And criticism for arbitrary and patently and Ashoka universities, Dhirubhai
it’s an open secret that NAAC inspec- incredible rankings. Ambani Institute of Information
tion teams demand lavish hospitality For instance, last month in the & Communication Technology,
and often cash envelopes to provide commentary of the EducationWorld Gandhinagar — don’t participate
favourable reports. In early February India Higher Education Rankings in the annual NIRF, indicating fear of
this year, the Central Bureau of Inves- (EWIHER) 2025-26 Part I edition bias in favour of government-promot-
tigation (CBI) arrested three office- which ranked the private sector Birla ed HEIs.
bearers of the Guntur-based Koneru Institute of Technology and Sci- Several media publications includ-
Lakshmaiah Education Foundation ence (BITS), Pilani (estb.1964) ing India Today also publish annual
(KLEF) together with seven members India’s #1 private engineering and college and university rankings. But
of a NAAC task force for conspiracy to technology university for the fourth these are essentially politics-orient-
provide KLEF University, Guntur a fa- year consecutively, your editors high- ed publications lacking the special-
vourable assessment report. On April lighted the #20 rank awarded to BITS- ist education knowledge and focus

MAY 2025 EDUCATIONWORLD 35