NIRF 2023: Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras retained the top spot among institutes in the country for the fifth consecutive year, while Bengaluru-based Indian Institute of Science was adjudged the best university and research institution, according to the education ministry's National Institutional Ranking Framework.
The rankings were announced by Union Minister of State for Education Rajkumar Ranjan Singh on Monday. The eighth edition of the NIRF observed that faculty with doctoral qualifications are mostly concentrated in the top 100 institutions. This is a serious handicap since mentorship received during the doctoral training can play a vital role in preparing the faculty for a teaching career in higher education, it noted.
Seven IITs - Madras, Bombay, Delhi, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Roorkee and Guwahati - figured in the top 10 in the overall rankings. The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), which was ranked ninth last year, improved its ranking to sixth this year, while Jawaharlal Nehru University retained its tenth position in the overall category.
The ranking framework evaluates institutions on five broad generic groups of parameters of teaching, learning and resources, research and professional practice, graduation outcomes, outreach and inclusivity and perception. Ranks are assigned based on the total sum of marks assigned for each of these five broad groups of parameters. In the universities category, IISc Bengaluru bagged the top spot, followed by JNU and Jamia Millia Islamia in second and third spots respectively. The trio were in the same positions last year too.
Jamia Millia Islamia Vice Chancellor Najma Akhtar said the varsity had progressed from 83rd rank in 2016 to third rank in 2022 and attributed the achievement to an improved perception about the university in teaching and research. IISc Bengaluru has been ranked the top university for the eighth consecutive year. Banaras Hindu University, which was ranked sixth last year in the category, improved its rank and bagged the fifth spot.
Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham in Coimbatore, Calcutta University, Vellore Institute of Technology, Aligarh Muslim University and University of Hyderabad bagged the subsequent positions in the universities category.
Eight IITs - Madras, Delhi, Bombay, Kanpur, Roorkee, Kharagpur, Guwahati and Hyderabad - were in the top 10 ranks in the engineering institutions category. According to IIT Madras Director V Kamakoti, collective effort, continuous assessment and improvement strategies were the key factors behind the institute retaining the top position in NIRF.
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The National Institute of Technology (NIT) Tiruchirapalli slipped by one spot this year and bagged the ninth rank, while Jadavpur University made its entry in the top 10 in the category and bagged the 10th position. Among colleges, Miranda House, Hindu College and Presidency College-Chennai retained the first and second and third positions. Miranda House has been the top college for the seventh year in a row.
Delhi University (DU) saw a marginal improvement as it climbed two spots to attain the 11th rank among universities. In the overall rankings as well, DU's position improved to 22 from 23 last year. Delhi University Vice Chancellor Yogesh Singh said that in the list of top 15 colleges of the country in NIRF 2023, nine colleges are from DU.
"I hope that next year University of Delhi and all its colleges would set records in all categories by giving even better results," he said. IIM Ahmedabad and Bangalore retained the first and second ranks respectively among the B-Schools in the country. IIM Calcutta, which was in the third spot last year, slipped to the fourth position while IIM Kozhikode bagged the third position.
Professor Bharat Bhasker, Director, IIMA, said, "We are delighted to be acknowledged as the best management institute in India by the Ministry of Education's NIRF 2023 rankings. This further strengthens our resolve to uphold high standards of excellence in every aspect of what we do and continue to contribute meaningfully to our nation’s growth".
The National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Hyderabad bagged the top rank in Pharmacy for the first time pushing Jamia Hamdard to the second slot. Jamia Hamdard was ranked at the top in the category for four consecutive years. Among the medical colleges, AIIMS, Delhi bagged the top spot, followed by PGIMER Chandigarh and Christian Medical College, Vellore. The trio bagged the same positions last year. AIIMS Delhi has occupied the top slot in the category for the sixth consecutive year.
Among the dental colleges, Saveetha Institute of Medical And Technical Sciences-Chennai, Manipal College of Dental Sciences and DY Patil Vidyapeeth-Pune retained the top three positions. "Changes in metrics, parameters and normalisation algorithms were introduced over the years, although the basic framework was kept intact," a senior ministry official said.
"As a result, the ranking of institutions has largely remained consistent, especially amongst 25 top-ranked institutions, over the years, although individual ranks might have changed by a few slots for some institutions due to performance variations across institutions on some of the parameters," the official said.
"All data for ranked institutions is painstakingly verified. Inconsistencies, contradictions and outliers are screened and identified with due diligence and patience. "Institutions have to be dealt with tactfully as they feel offended with direct and blunt questions on the validity of data submitted by them. It requires a lot of patience in educating individual institutions on the quality requirements of the data submitted by them," the official added.
While from 2023, a new subject "Agriculture and Allied Sectors" has been introduced in NIRF, the "Innovation" ranking previously executed by the Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA) has been integrated into NIRF with an aim to reduce the burden on institutions of providing similar data to two different agencies. The Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi has bagged the top slot in Agriculture and Allied Sectors.
With the addition of the new category (Innovation) subject domain (Agriculture and Allied Sectors) and expansion of "Architecture" to "Architecture and Planning", the existing portfolio of India Rankings has increased to 13 categories and subject domains.
(With PTI Inputs)
