The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) recently released the ‘India Rankings 2020’ for Institutions of Higher Education. This comes shortly after the global QS World University rankings illustrated a decline in India’s top institutions such as the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc). These national rankings serve as a crucial asset for the development and expansion of higher education in India.
The Origin and Objective of the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF)
The MHRD instituted the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) on September 29, 2015. The NIRF has functioned over the past five years as a means of ranking higher education institutions based on various categories and domains of knowledge. The objective of the NIRF is not only to spur competition among these institutions but also to encourage them towards overall growth.
Attracting International Students and Encouraging Growth
Moreover, these rankings serve to attract international students, essentially fortifying the ‘Study in India’ programme. In fact, the NIRF serves as one of the assessment criteria for private institutions under the Institution of Eminence (IoE) Scheme. The scheme is a government initiative aimed at establishing or upgrading 20 institutions (10 from the public sector and 10 from the private sector) into world-class teaching and research institutions.
The Methodology Behind the Rankings
NIRF ranks institutions based on a devised methodology that draws on recommendations and understandings put forth by a Core Committee established by the MHRD. The parameters considered are Teaching, Learning and Resources; Research and Professional Practices; Graduation Outcomes; Outreach and Inclusivity; and Peer Perception. Interesting to note is that 90% of the NIRF parameters are objective and purely fact-based, with only 10% dependent on subjective perception by academic peers and employers.
International Rankings and Indian Institutions
In terms of international rankings, Indian institutions often lag behind due to the considerable weightage given to perception, a subjective parameter. Indian institutions often struggle with the “internationalisation” parameter in such global rankings. The goal of the NIRF rankings is to establish a system where international institutions aspire to be included in the Indian ranking framework rather than vice versa.
Growth in Institutional Registration
In total, the NIRF saw 3,771 institutions register for ranking this year, representing a 20% increase from 2019. This marks the fifth consecutive edition of these important rankings. A ‘Dental’ category was added for the first time this year, bringing the total categories or subject domains to ten.
The importance of these rankings cannot be stressed enough, as they not only provide a basis for competition and growth among Indian institutions but also serve as an important tool in attracting international students. As the scope and methodology of these rankings continue to evolve, it will be interesting to see how their impact on the higher education landscape in India develops over time.