The Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings for 2023 are out and India's top research institute as per the National Institute Rankings Framework (NIRF), the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) was the only Indian university listed in the top 300.
According to a report by PTI, seven Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) — Bombay, Delhi, Guwahati, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Madras and Roorkee — boycotted the ranking for the third year in a row, challenging THE's parameters and transparency.
Why did IITs boycott the ranking?
"The seven IITs will not participate in the ranking this year. They will reconsider their decision next year if Times Higher Education is able to convince them about the parameters and transparency in their ranking process," the institutes had then said in a joint statement.
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati was last featured in the 2020 edition and returns this year in the 1001-1200 band.
The report stated that institutes that were ranked lower than those such as Jawaharlal Nehru University, Jamia Millia Islamia, Banaras Hindu University and Aligarh Muslim University in the NIRF and the QS (Quacquarelli Symonds) World Rankings, were ranked higher in the THE rankings, raising more concerns about the parameters of THE rankings. Both THE and QS are prominent world rankings, based out of London.
The total number of Indian institutes that made the cut this year has increased to 75 from 56 in 2020 and 31 in 2017, making India the sixth most represented country in the rankings this year. Making their debut on the list were six Indian universities, with Shoolini University of Biotechnology and Management Sciences the highest ranked of the newcomers, ranked at 351-400.
THE's Chief Knowledge Officer on Indian institutions
"India's policy leaders have fully embraced the vital need for India to join the global knowledge economy network and to ensure that the nation's universities compete with, collaborate with, and benchmark themselves against the very best universities in the world. This will all be vital to realising India's full potential as the world's largest democracy and the key to unlocking the full economic might of India's vast youth population — improving training in high-level skills and enabling new knowledge creation and innovation. And the data shows that the policy is succeeding and delivering real change," Phil Baty, Chief Knowledge Officer, at Times Higher Education, told PTI.
Globally, the University of Oxford retains the top spot for the seventh consecutive year. A record number of 1,799 universities from 104 countries and regions are ranked, 137 more than last year. The number of US universities represented in the top 100 continues to fall, from a peak of 43 in 2018 to 34 this year, reported PTI.
"We are not just seeing more representation for India in the rankings, we're seeing a rise up the rankings: the leading institution, Indian Institute of Science, has risen to make the world top 300 this year, and we now have nine Indian institutions in the world top 600, up from just six last year," said Baty.
