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Panjab University slides to 701-800 band in Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2027
Stuck in the 601-800 band for three years, Panjab University slips further down global standings; Shoolini emerges as region’s best
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Panjab University’s struggle to reclaim its past global standing continues, with the institution slipping to the 701-800 band in the newly released Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2027.
While Shoolini University of Biotechnology and Management Sciences, Solan, clinched a place in the 451-500 tier, highest in the region, PU dropped further after stagnating in the 601-800 bracket for three consecutive years. Although university officials downplayed the drop, the data reveals a starker reality: a clear slide across critical research and industry parameters that has pushed the institution further down the global leaderboard.
The rankings are announced on the basis of a total of five parameters, including teaching, research environment, research quality, industry engagement and international outlook.
Responding to the latest rankings, PU registrar Yajvender Pal Verma said there was “no reason” to interpret the result as a deterioration in the university’s academic standing.
“The ranking system is based on several parameters and institutions compete across different strengths. Panjab University has shown improvement in its own performance indicators every year. Research quality remains one of our strongest areas and there is no reason to conclude that the university has slipped. Some factors, including faculty shortages, may have had an impact on certain parameters, but overall our performance has improved,” Verma maintained.
The Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, remained India’s highest-ranked institution, standing 254th globally.
Among other Indian universities in the 701-800 bracket are established public institutions like Jawaharlal Nehru University, University of Delhi and Indian Institute of Technology Patna, alongside new entrants like Central University of Himachal Pradesh and Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Rohilkhand University, Bareilly.
Regional private institutions, including Chitkara University and Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, also figure in this global tier.
The University of Oxford, located in the United Kingdom, once again secured the top position in the rankings for the 11th consecutive year.
The latest rankings come weeks after Vice-President CP Radhakrishnan, during his maiden visit to Panjab University, expressed hope that the institution would work towards finding a place among the world’s top 100 universities within the next five years, urging the university community to pursue excellence in research, innovation and academic standards.
However, this ambitious five-year target stands in stark contrast to the ground reality: the university has steadily lost its global and domestic standing over the years.
In its maiden outing in the Times Higher Education rankings in 2013-14, PU had ranked in the 226-250 band globally—its highest-ever position and the highest among Indian institutions at the time—much to the surprise of many.
Even in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) rankings, PU was ranked 12th among Indian universities in 2016. A decade later, it stands at 60th.
