The universities in India seem falling behind the curve. As per Times Higher Education’s (THE) Asia University Rankings 2024, just one Indian varsity – Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru – feature in the top 100 list of top universities in Asia. In comparison, there were 4 universities in the top 100 rankings last year.
The rankings show that five Chinese universities list in the top 10 universities in Asia. In fact, the coveted Indian Institute of Technology (IITs) don’t find a place in the top 150 institutes within the region. For instance, IIT Dhanbad ranked highest amongst all IITs (at 152), which is lower than Anna University (119), Mahatma Gandhi University (134) and Jamia Millia Islamia (148).
“Generally, the quality of higher education institutes isn’t at par with global standards. Indian universities have been historically weak in key rankings parameters, including shortage of teachers, which, in turn, affects the quality of research of our institutes, poor intake of foreign students, and lower number of global faculty,” said Sudhanshu Bhushan. head (department of higher & professional education) at National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA).
The rankings highlight some positives as well. For example, IISc has moved up to 32nd spot this year as compared to 48th last year. In addition, there are 91 Indian universities in the ranking this year, up from 75 last year, which means that India has the second-highest number of universities in the rankings after Japan.
“The universities in India have excelled in some areas but fallen in others in. This year’s Asia university rankings highlight some significant improvements in Indian higher education, including in research and internationalisation, which is very promising. Given the very stiff competition in Asia it is not too surprising some universities in the country fell down the ranking,” said Phil Baty, chief global affairs officer, THE.
As per the rankings, the Indian universities’ research quality metrics are above the regional averages. Also, the average percentage of international collaboration and average percentage of international staff have both been improving year-on-year. Though the country’s institutions underperform in institutional, research, patents, and international outlook metrics.
THE said that the methodology for the rankings have been specially recalibrated to reflect the priorities of Asian institutions. Broadly, the performance of the universities are judged in five areas, including teaching, research environment, research quality, international outlook and industry.