New Delhi: In the latest edition of the global league table published on Thursday, not a single Indian institution made the top 300 because 7 of the IITs continue to boycott the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings.
The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) is the country’s top performing institute, but ranks in the 301-350 range. This is followed by IIT Ropar and the JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research. Both are in the 351-400 range.
Overall, India houses 35 of the world’s top 1,000 universities, which is its second-highest total in rankings history. It was 36 last year. Globally, Oxford University tops the ranking for the sixth consecutive year.
It’s the second consecutive year that the IITs in Mumbai, Delhi, Kanpur, Guwahati, Madras, Roorkee, and Kharagpur have not been included in the rankings. They announced their boycott in April last year, citing concerns over transparency after none of them made the top 300 universities in the world. The IITs had met twice with THE officials beforehand to raise concerns about ‘transparency’ in the ranking parameters, especially the citation metric. They objected to THE allowing participating institutions to use collaborative research to boost their score on the citation metric. Because of its multiple authors, these research papers have high citation rates.
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Thus, an institution that is part of such a project ends up having a disproportionate advantage over others just because one paper is cited multiple times in multiple countries, the IITs told THE. ‘We were hoping they will tweak their criteria a bit. After those meetings no one really got back to us. So our boycott continues,’ said an IIT director. When asked about the feasibility of such a boycott, the director replied, ‘We are very much part of the QS Rankings which is also a reputed ranking table. We have found them to be more transparent when it comes to their ranking parameters.’
The Indian Express contacted THE’s editorial director, Phil Baty, who said that THE’s ranking methodology is transparent and trusted worldwide. ‘Our ranking system is based entirely on a relationship of trust and transparency with the universities that take part, and inclusion. We are trusted all over the world. We firmly believe that the decision not to participate in these globally recognised and trusted rankings disadvantages the IITs. We are proud of our transparent methodology. We are ready and available at any time to continue discussions with the IITs. We would welcome their participation.’
‘Meanwhile, a record 71 Indian institutions have taken part in this year’s rankings and can reap all the benefits from their engagement.’
When asked whether the THE would accommodate IIT’s feedback on the citation metric, he replied, ‘Our plans to review and update our overall methodology are well documented. But it is a process which must involve the entire world and cannot be rushed.’
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