Top-ranking JNU, IIT-K yet to figure in ‘eminence’ race

HRD LIST One of the key criteria for institutions to apply for the tag was their NIRF standing NEW DELHI:

Nine of the 10 Indian universities that topped the human resource development (HRD) ministry’s National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) have either received the coveted ‘Institute of Eminence (IoE)’ tag or been recommended for it by an expert panel that made its latest recommendations public on Friday.

The sole exception is Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), which stood behind only the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, among universities in the NIRF rankings for 2018, but failed to impress the four-member panel headed by former chief election commissioner N Gopalaswami. In the NIRF rankings, even in the overall category, JNU had secured a creditable sixth position.

IISc, which topped the NIRF rankings for 2018 in the universities category as well as overall, was the first institute to get the prestigious tag when the panel released its first list in July.

NIRF ranks institutions on parameters that broadly cover 1 IIT Madras: recommended in 2nd list

2 IIT Bombay: IoE tag in first list

3 IIT Delhi: IoE tag in first list

4 IIT Kharagpur: recommended

5 IIT Kanpur: not recommended

6 IIT Roorkee: not recommended

Top 5 Indian Universities as per

NIRF rankings 2018

1 Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore: Gets IOE tag in first list

2 JNU: Not recommended for IoE

3 BHU: Recommended for IoE tag in 2nd list 4 Anna University: Recommended

5 University of Hyderabad: Recommended

“teaching, learning and resources,” “research and professional practices,” “graduation outcomes,” “outreach and inclusivity,” and “perception”. The IoE tag is awarded to private and public institutions as part of an ambitious government plan under which they will be nurtured into world class centres of education.

Benaras Hindu University (BHU), which ranked third on NIRF, Anna University, fourth,

University of Hyderabad, fifth, and Jadavpur University, sixth, have all been recommended for the IoE tag. Delhi University, Amrita Vishwapeetham, Coimbatore; Savitribai Phule Pune University; and Aligarh Muslim University, ranked from 7 to 10 on NIRF, are also among the 24 institutions that will be considered for the prestigious tag.

A message sent to JNU vice chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar on whether the university will review why it had not made it to the IoE tag went unanswered.

To be sure, JNU has attracted a fair amount of controversy. In 2016, the university erupted in protests over the 2013 execution of Afzal Guru, a Kashmiri separatist convicted of conspiring in an attack on Parliament in 2001, but whose trial many human rights groups felt was flawed. Alleged anti-national slogans were shouted at the protests.

Among the top engineering schools, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Kanpur and IITRoorkee were ranked fifth and sixth in NIRF, but failed to get the IoE tag. IIT-Madras, IIT-Bombay, IIT-Delhi and IIT-Kharagpur which took the top four NIRF ranks have either got the tag or been recommended for it.

Asked about IIT-Kanpur missing out, a senior government official, said it was a “surprise” given that some institutions that ranked “much lower” had figured in the IoE list.“The committee may have its view, which should be respected. May be the aim was not to have too many technical institutions...,” the official said, requesting anonymity.