Question : RANKING OF INDIAN UNIVERSITIES

(a) whether the Government is aware that as per a study, none of the Indian Universities figure in the top two hundred Universities of the world;

(b) if so, the reasons therefor and the reaction of the Government thereto;

(c) whether the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) has conducted any survey in this regard;

(d) if so, the outcome of the said survey including the methodology adopted by them in this regard; and

(e) the steps being taken by the Government to improve the standard of higher education in the country?

MINISTER OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT (SHRI M.M. PALLAM RAJU)

(a) to (e): A statement is laid on the Table of the House .

STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (A) TO (E) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 161 FOR 5.12.2012 ASKED BY SHRI ARJUN MEGHWAL AND SHRI NEERAJ SHEKHAR, HON’BLE MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT REGARDING RANKING OF INDIAN UNIVERSITIES.

(a): Yes, Sir. As per the world rankings for 2012-13, assigned by the Times Higher Education, one of the international ranking agencies, no Indian University figures in the top 200 Universities in the world.

(b): There are several entities undertaking ranking of world universities as per their own criteria. Some of the better known global systems of rankings are the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) system, the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings and the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) published by Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

These different international ranking systems use different values, indices and parameters to rank higher educational institutions. These criteria are neither universally accepted nor recognized and are therefore sometimes subjected to criticism in academic circles. Some of these parameters may not be relevant for Indian higher educational institutions and therefore, these rankings cannot constitute the basis for benchmarking of Indian institutions.

Though some institutions of the country like Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) etc. are comparable in quality and standards to any highly ranked university in the world, they are not able to figure in top ranked institutions due to their focus on limited programmes and disciplines.

(c) & (d): National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) has initiated a project to develop guidelines and parameters for ranking of higher educational institutions. The project has not yet been finalized.

NAAC is carrying out the task of assessment and accreditation of Universities and Colleges. At present, the process of assessment and accreditation is voluntary. So far, the NAAC has accredited 172 universities with the following grade:

Grade category A B C
No.of Universities 67 99 6
universities
NAAC has also accredited 4797 colleges in different states with
the following grade:
Grade category A B C
No. of colleges 537 3292 968