Thursday 3 October 2013

Panjab Univ beats IITs in global rankings

Manash Pratim Gohain | TNN 


New Delhi:Although no Indian institution of higher learning has made it to the top 200 in the Times Higher Education’s (THE) World University Rankings list 2013-14, one new entrant — Panjab University — is close to that elite group. Panjab University is the highest ranked Indian institution, featuring in the group of universities ranked between 226 and 250. 
    According to THE, this is India’s best performance so far with five institutes making it to the top 400. The other Indian institutes featuring in the list are four Indian Institutes of Technology from Delhi, Kanpur, Kharagpur and Roorkee, all clubbed in the group of institutions ranked between 351 and 400. 
    The California Institute of Technology has retained its place at the top of the rank
ings for the third consecutive year, while Harvard University has regained the second place (up from fourth in 2012-13), a position shared with the UK’s University of Oxford. Stanford University has slipped from joint second to fourth. 
    According to THE, the improved engagement by India 
in the world-renowned rankings has seen it add three new entrants to the list. The increased representation for India follows a two-day National Policy Dialogue in May on international rankings, when THE representatives were invited to meet senior university leaders by the HRD ministry and Planning Commission. 
    At the meeting in New Delhi, Ashok Thakur, secretary of the department of higher education, said that Indian institutions must no longer hide behind the “excuse” that the global rankings metrics and indicators are not well suited for India’s institutions. “We 
must play the same game as the rest of the world is playing,” he said. 
    Of the five Indian institutions in the top 400, three — Punjab University, IIT-Delhi and IIT-Kanpur — are new entrants. They join IIT-Kharagpur, which has slipped from the 226-250 group to the 351-400 group and IIT-Roorkee, which remains in the 351-400 group. Phil Baty, editor of the THE World University Rankings, said: “These results should be encouraging for India. While no Indian institution makes the top 200, one player is close in the 226-250 group. Moreover, India now has five representatives in the top 400.” 
    While the US remained the dominant force in the rankings with 77 institutions in the top 200, UK is second with 31. At five, Japan has the highest number of universities in the list among Asian countries.



Source:::: The Times of India, 03-10-2013, p.09,  http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Client.asp?Daily=TOIM&showST=true&login=default&pub=TOI&Enter=true&Skin=TOINEW

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