NIRF 2023: Panjab University slips by three spots to rank 44
Last year, Panjab University was ranked 41, also a drop from the 38th spot in the 2021 rankings; in the very first NIRF rankings released in 2016, the university was ranked 12
Panjab University (PU) has gone down three spots to rank 44 in the Union education ministry’s National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) 2023 rankings that were announced on Monday.
However, the varsity’s overall score improved from 51.23 in 2022 to 53.31 this year.
Last year, PU was ranked 41, also a drop from the 38th spot in the 2021 rankings. In the very first NIRF rankings released in 2016, the university was ranked 12.
The top three institutions this year are IIT Madras, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, and IIT Delhi.
Among universities, PU managed to clinch the 25th rank, same as last year.
Out of the five parameters for the rankings, PU lost marks only for outreach and inclusivity, which includes the percentage of students from other states and countries; woman students, economically and socially challenged students and facilities for disabled students.
PU scored just 0.73 of a total 20 for facilities provided to economically and socially challenged students, which includes the total number of undergraduate or postgraduate students being provided full tuition fees reimbursement by the institution to pursue their degrees.
Speaking about the rankings, dean of university instructions (DUI) Rumina Sethi said, “We will examine the report in detail. We have managed to maintain the same rank as last year among universities and our overall score has also improved.”
Sethi added that various activities going on at the varsity, including the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) from the upcoming session, were sure to improve its rankings next year.
The varsity improved its score in all other parameters, including teaching learning and resources, research and professional practice, graduation outcomes and peer perception (see box).
PEC and PU slip in engineering
The slip in rankings has been the most dramatic in engineering, where PU did not even figure in the top 100 institutions of India. Even Punjab Engineering College (PEC) did not make the cut. Both have been placed in the 101-150 bracket. Last year, PEC was ranked 87 and PU 92.
Speaking about this, PEC director Baldev Setia said, “The rankings don’t take into account some of the latest figures like the money spent on salaries by the institute. We have improved and hope to be among the top 100 again next year.”
To solve the faculty crunch, PEC has recruited 31 new teachers that will help boost their ranking, as a dwindling student-faculty ratio has been highlighted as a problem in the university, according to the external peer review committee formed by the institute.
PU drops from third to eighth in pharmacy
While PU was among the top three institutes in the country for pharmacy in the previous two rankings, it dropped to the eighth spot this time.
Indu Pal Kaur, chairperson, University institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (UIPS), PU, said, “UIPS scored high when it comes to research and professional practice, but we lost out in teaching learning and resources, which covers student-faculty ratio and financial resources, where the score dropped from 74 to 66.38.”
Even among research institutions, PU’s rank fell from 29 to 33 since last year.
Home science college among top 100 colleges
Government Home Science College, Sector 10, was ranked 52 among the country’s colleges, becoming the only college in Chandigarh to make it to the top 100 list. However, it had ranked higher (46) last year.
GGDSD College, Sector 32, and MCM DAV College, Sector 36, figured in the 101-150 bracket, while DAV College Sector 10 and Government Post Graduate College for Girls, Sector 11, were placed in the 151-200 band.
Chandigarh College of Architecture, Sector 12, was placed 29 among the top 30 architecture institutes of the country.
Other varsities in region improve rankings
The ranking of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Ropar improved from 35 last year to 33 this year.
Similarly, Chandigarh University, Gharuan, also climbed up in the rankings, rising from 48 to 45. Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology bettered its rank from 57 to 40.
Shoolini University of Biotechnology and Management Sciences, Solan, did not make it to the top 100 institutions overall, but improved its ranks among universities from 96 to 73.
Chitkara University, Rajpura, stayed in the 101-150 bracket among top universities in both 2022 and 2023 rankings.
