E-Paper
QS rankings: Panjab University lags behind CU, Shoolini, Thapar
Chandigarh University, Mohali, and Shoolini University, Solan, are placed in the 271-280 bracket in the QS Asia University Rankings 2022
Panjab University (PU) retained its position in the 301-350 bracket in the QS Asia University Rankings 2022 released on Tuesday.
However, it is placed behind many private institutes in the region. While Chandigarh University, Mohali, and Shoolini University of Biotechnology and Management Sciences, Solan, are placed in the 271-280 bracket, Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, Patiala, is in the 281-290 bracket.
This year’s rankings feature over 650 institutes from across Asia. Placed in the 261-270 bracket, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Ropar, is leading in the region . IIT, Bombay, is on the top in India with rank 42, followed by IIT, Delhi, at rank 45.
In 2014, PU was ranked in the 171-180 bracket, which was its best performance to date. Even last year, it was placed in the 301-350 bracket.
However, the varsity’s score in international research network has gone up to 52 from 47.1 in the 2021 rankings. Meanwhile, the score in citations per paper has dipped to 35.6 from 36.4 and that in academic reputation has dropped to 14.3 from 14.9.
PU alleges last-minute change
According to the university, its ranking was changed at the last minute. It has sought an explanation from the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Limited.
A communication sent from the varsity’s Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) to QS on Tuesday states: “We had received an email from QS team on October 6, wherein we were told that the varsity was placed in the 291-300 bracket, an improvement from the last year’s rankings...”
IQAC director Ashish Jain said: “We are surprised to see this change in the ranking at the last minute. We have sought an explanation from QS.”
Meanwhile, PU teachers’ body president Mritunjay Kumar said: “Rankings depend on several factors and keep changing. We have a good teaching faculty and we are hopeful that we will bounce back with better results next time.”
Published annually since 2009, the QS Asia University Rankings highlight the top universities in Asia each year. The 2022 rankings are scored on 11 key indicators, including academic and employer reputations, the number of staff holding a doctorate, and the percentage of international students.
