NIRF Rankings and Higher Education in India

Context: Experts have raised concerns regarding the methodology employed in the recently published National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) Rankings, which ranks Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) within the country.

About the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF)

• It was launched by the Ministry for Human Resource Development (MHRD) [now Ministry of Education (MoE)] in September 2015 to rank higher educational institutions (HEIs) in the country.
• Before NIRF’s launch, HEIs were usually ranked by private entities, especially news magazines.
• Why was it launched?
  • The subjectivity in the ranking methodology developed by QS World University Rankings and the Times Higher Education World University Ranking led India to start its own ranking system for Indian HEIs on the line of Shanghai Rankings.
  • The long-term plan of NIRF is to make it an international league table (Currently, NIRF continues to only rank Indian HEIs).
• Participation in NIRF was made compulsory for all government-run educational institutions in 2018.
• Assessment: The framework ranks institutions based on the following five parameters:
  • Teaching, Learning & Resources (30% weightage);
  • Research and Professional Practice (30%);
  • Graduation Outcomes (20%);
  • Outreach and Inclusivity (10%); and
  • Perception (10%).
• Categories of ranking: Best institutions across 11 categories are listed out – overall national ranking, universities, engineering, college, medical, management, pharmacy, law, architecture, dental and research.

Concerns associated with the NIRF

• Overemphasis on bibliometrics: Experts have argued that bibliometric indicators don’t fully capture the intricacies of scientific performance.
  • Bibliometrics refers to the measurable aspects of research, such as the number of papers published, the number of times they are cited, and the impact factors of journals.
• Lack of transparency: While the NIRF does publicly share its methodology, it is criticized for not providing a detailed view of the data collection process and sources.
• Insufficient quality parameters: Critics argue that the indicators used by the NIRF may not be sufficient to capture the overall quality of an institution. Factors such as the skills imparted to students, financial health, and institutional size may also be important considerations in assessing quality.
• Manipulation and competition: Over-reliance on rankings can create a competitive environment where institutions may prioritize meeting ranking criteria over actual excellence.
• One-size-fits-all approach: Critics argue that the NIRF’s ranking approach lacks consideration for the diverse nature of the Indian education system, leading to a one-size-fits-all approach that overlooks the unique contexts and goals of different institutions.

Higher Education in India

• The term ‘higher education’ with respect to India denotes the tertiary level education that is imparted after 12 years of schooling (10 years of primary education and 2 years of secondary education).
• India’s higher education system is the third largest in the world, next to the United States and China.
• India’s Higher Education sector has witnessed a tremendous increase in the number of Universities/University level Institutions & Colleges since independence.
  • As per the All-India Survey of Higher Education (AISHE), there are 1,043 universities, 42,343 colleges and 11,779 standalone institutions.
  • Out of these, almost 78.6% are in the private sector– aided or unaided colleges and only about 21% are in the Government sector.
• Key findings of All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) 2020-2021:

Issues plaguing India’s Higher Education

• Shortage of Faculty: Colleges and universities need a sufficient number of teachers and researchers to create and disseminate knowledge. The paucity of a sufficient number of faculty members undermines the growth of India’s knowledge sector.
  • There is no standing mechanism to collect the information shortage of faculties.
  • Sometimes positions of faculties also remain vacant due to caste-based discrimination.
• Diversity of teachers: In central universities (CUs), 75.2% of the sanctioned SC posts, 87.3% of the ST positions and 84.7% of the OBC posts for the position of professor are lying vacant, while in the associate professor category it is 64.7%, 76.8% and 76.6% respectively.
• Shortage of PhD scholars: As per data of Lok Sabha, in 9 IITs, the acceptance rate for SC/ST/OBC PhD candidates is at or below 8%, despite all of these universities receiving hundreds of applications. The dropout trends from these premium educational institutions have been from SC/ST/OBC categories.
• Low GER: In India, currently, the gross enrolment ratio for Higher Education is less than 30%.
• Overburdening faculty: As a result of faculty shortage, professors are being overburdened. Their working hours have increased.
• Lack of Financial Resources: Public spending on education has been relatively low in India since its inception. Most states spend 2.5 to 3.2% of their GDP on education.
• Poor Quality of Education: Many private universities whose primary purpose is profit-seeking hire less qualified people in poorly paid part-time positions as faculties instead of better qualified, regular faculty members, to keep costs down.
• Commercialization:  The withdrawal of public sector has left the space open for private institutions that have turned education into a flourishing business.
• Curriculum Disparity: There is a wide gap between industry requirements and curriculum taught at colleges. This also renders graduates unemployable lacking in specific skill-sets.
• Poor Research infrastructure: India’s spending on research and development (R&D) is among the lowest in the world.
  • Only 2.7% Colleges run Ph.D. programme and 35.04% Colleges run Post-Graduate Level programmes in India
• Under-representation of Women: India’s best educational institutions rank quite poorly in women diversity. The scores have been dismal in India’s top 10 engineering institutes.
• Lack of Autonomy: The over-regulation by regulators such as UGC, MCI, which decide on aspects of standards, appointments, fee structure and curriculum has further deterred new institutions from opening campuses.

Government Initiatives for Improving Higher Education

• National Education Policy (NEP) 2020: It proposes various reforms in India’s higher education including technical education. (see image)
  • NEP aims to increase the gross enrollment ratio (GER) in higher education to 50% by 2035.
• The Institute of Eminence (IoE): It is a recognition scheme under University Grants Commission (UGC) that helps empower higher educational institutions. The HRD Ministry of India grants the Institution of Eminence status to multiple universities.
  • Academic institutions that can impart highest quality education, generate cutting edge research, and attract the best and the brightest from across the globe can have multiplier beneficial effects for the country.
• Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA): It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) that aims at providing strategic funding to eligible state higher educational institutions.
• Education Quality Upgradation and Inclusion Programme (EQUIP): This is a five-year vision plan to improve the quality and accessibility of higher education over the next five years (2019-2024).
  • Double the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in higher education and resolve the geographically and socially skewed access to higher education institutions in India.
  • Position at least 50 Indian institutions among the top-1000 global universities.
• Global Initiative for Academics Network (GIAN): The programme seeks to invite distinguished academicians, entrepreneurs, scientists, experts from premier institutions from across the world, to teach in the higher educational institutions in India.
• All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE): The main objectives of the survey are to identify and capture all the institutions of higher learning in the country; and collect the data from all the higher education institutions on various aspects of higher education.

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