India has the third largest higher education system in the world, behind China and the United States comprising 795 universities, 39,671 affiliated colleges, 10,15,696 teaching faculty, and 2,37,64,960 students including 29,34,989 post-graduate and 2,00,730 research scholars. An Expert Committee set up by the UGC for developing the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) for Higher Education Institutions under the ambit of the University Grants Commission, discusses and deliberates upon reputed globally-recognized rankings of the world-class universities and the performance of Indian educational institutions in these rankings.
Categories in NIRF
Overall: NIRF also provides an overall ranking, allowing institutions to benchmark themselves within the same discipline.
Engineering: This category focuses on ranking engineering institutions based on their teaching, and other relevant factors.
Management: This category ranks management institutions, based on parameters such as faculty, corporate placements, and industry interface.
Pharmacy: This category assesses pharmaceutical institutions based on factors like placement records, and industry collaborations.
Colleges: This category ranks undergraduate colleges across disciplines, considering parameters such as student strength, faculty quality, and infrastructure facilities.
Architecture: This category assesses architecture institutions based on factors like faculty strength, student achievements, and design excellence.
Dental: This category assesses dental institutions based on factors like academic excellence, research productivity, and patient care.
Law: This category focuses on ranking law institutions based on parameters like faculty qualifications, research output, and academic excellence.
Medical: This category ranks medical institutions, based on factors like teaching, and healthcare services provided.
Research: This category evaluates standalone research institutions based on their research output, collaborations, and impact on society.
Agriculture: This is a new criterion introduced in 2023 for agricultural course-specific college ranking based on teaching and research methodology.
Methodology Used for NIRF Estimation
The different parameters as listed on the official website of NIRF are:
1. Teaching, Learning, and Resources (TLR)
The quality and effectiveness of teaching and learning processes within an institution are studied under this. The parameters considered include student-teacher ratio, faculty qualifications and experience, faculty-student ratio, and the availability of resources such as library facilities, laboratories, and classrooms.
2. Research and Professional Practice (RP)
It emphasizes the research output of an institution. The Parameters are the no. of research papers published, patents, and projects taken, and collaborations with industry and other research institutions.
3. Graduation Outcomes (GO)
It assesses the institution’s ability to produce employable graduates and their success in securing placements or pursuing higher education. Parameters considered include the placement record, the number of students pursuing higher studies, and the average salary.
4. Outreach and Inclusivity (OI)
An institution’s efforts in promoting inclusivity and diversity, as well as its engagement with society, are taken into account. Parameters are women empowerment initiatives and social outreach programs.
5. Perception (PR)
The parameter in this category is assessed through surveys and feedback collected from academic experts, employers, alumni, and the general public.
6. Weightage Distribution
The weights may vary from year to year, and the NIRF provides a detailed breakdown of the weightage distribution for each category and sub-category through its website.
The NIRF ranking system serves as a valuable tool for students, parents, and educational institutions to assess the performance of educational institutions in India. For more details do visit the NIRF website: www.nirfindia.org
