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THE Asia University Rankings 2020: Panjab University slips 13 notches, improves on scores
Ranked 149 among 489 institutions from 30 countries and regions in Asia
Panjab University has slipped 13 notches in the eighth edition of Times Higher Education (THE) Asia University Rankings 2020, yet again missing a spot in the top 100.
Ranked 136 in 2019, this year PU has settled at the 149th position among 489 institutions from 30 countries and regions in Asia. In the rankings released on Wednesday, PU shares its position with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Hyderabad. In 2018, the varsity was 114th in the list.
As many as 56 Indian institutions qualified for the rankings, an increase of seven from 2019, with eight in the top 100. Indian Institute of Science, Bengalaru, ranked highest in the country at 36.
At 47, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Ropar also made it to the top 50.
PU was placed higher than University of Delhi, which is at the 155th spot. It is also ahead of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Delhi; Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Varanasi; Thapar University, Patiala; and Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI), Delhi.
The varsity has also improved on the overall score from 32.1 in 2019 to 34.2 in 2020 (see box).
“These international rankings compare technical institutes with traditional universities, which is not an apt comparison. Yet, we have a reason to cheer. This year we have made a substantial jump in research and citation scores,” said Ashish Jain, director, inter quality assurance cell (IQAC), PU.
Vice-chancellor Raj Kumar said, “Ever since I joined the university in August 2019, it has been my endeavour to imbibe the culture of research and industry linkages among the faculty and students.”
Rajat Sandhir, professor at department of biochemistry, who is also a senator at PU, said, “Other universities have much better student-to-teacher ratio, which affected our ranking. We need to urgently fill vacant faculty positions to do better in future.”
The number of students per faculty was 21.5 in 2019, which increased to 23.4 this year.
