Indian institutions fail to make it among the top 300 of the World University Rankings

For all the convincing strides we make in the field of knowledge with our home-grown and exported talent pool, India has just not been able to establish its place in the world as a valued learning centre. No Indian university could feature in the top 300 of the Times Higher Education (THE)’s World University Rankings 2020. The only two institutes that could make it into the 301-350 ranking were the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Ropar. The top positions were taken by the US and the UK, with Japan and China forging their way ahead. Our downslide is all the more surprising considering that we had made significant strides in the past seven years, moving up the ladder in the very same rankings. Both IISc, Bengaluru and IIT, Ropar were listed in the 251-300 group last year with 25 universities ranking in the top 200. The only succour this time is the fact that India is the fifth most-represented nation in the complete list, with 56 entries, and IIT Ropar making a surprise debut as India’s No 1 university, surpassing even IIT Bombay. Data released by the QS rankings released in June this year, too, were not so encouraging. While three IITs found a place among the top 200 and saw some fresh names being included, many eminent universities lost their positions from the list. Never mind the contrasting figures, our inability to rank anywhere close to the 100 mark is worrisome, as we are lagging far behind Japan and China. With 103 universities, Japan holds the first position and with 72, China bagged the second position in the 2019 Asia University Rankings. India was considered worthy of just 27 institutions in the said list, and as a disseminator of knowledge, definitely not worthy of being considered an Asian major.

We immediately need to look at systemic flaws in the higher education system. The teacher-student ratio is still dismal. Besides, most faculty members in universities continue to be hired on an ad hoc basis. Second, there is no funding for research and collaborative ventures with academics or cross-flow with other world universities. Even existing centres of excellence, like IITs and IISc, need to register their international presence by publicising their research and courses abroad.  Despite a slew of innovations, seldom does IIT research find a place in rated international journals and papers. Third, there’s lack of a conducive environment for high-quality research, which is most critical to world rankings. The UGC’s assessment of academicians through the Academic Performance Indicators (API) score has inflicted more damage to the overall quality of research as scholars are focussed on scoring higher points than maintaining the quality of research. And if we want to catch up indeed, then we need to roll out inter-disciplinary courses. Though new age courses like marine engineering, geophysics, game design and development have found a place now, STEM courses (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) remain a priority for students. With the world making rapid strides in AI (artificial intelligence), automation and machine learning and employers looking for skilled people, more such courses need to be introduced. That’s why India is seen as a nation that sends and not receives students for higher education. The percentage of foreign students studying here is, therefore, very tiny in comparison. One may argue that these Western parameters are biased against our more socialist approach to education but quality is for us to retain.