Here’s why St Stephen’s, Hindu and other top Delhi colleges are missing from HRD ministry’s rankings

Six Delhi University colleges are among the top 10 colleges, according to a countrywide government ranking of educational institutions. Interestingly, many popular colleges such as St Stephen’s, Hindu, Sri Venkateswara and Ramjas did not apply to be considered for the rankings.

Some college principals said they missed the deadline while some said they were busy with other inspections but most of them agreed on one thing –that they will apply for the survey next year.

Some of the popular colleges that did not apply for the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) are Hansraj, Kirori Mal, Jesus and Mary, Kamala Nehru, Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Khalsa, Daulat Ram College and Gargi.

“We were busy with our National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) inspection when we had to apply for the ranking. Next year we will surely apply as we already have a good NAAC score,” said Dinesh Khattar, Kirori Mal College officiating principal.

PC Tulsiyan, officiating principal of Ramjas College, said, “I was not in college during that time, but next year we will definitely apply.”

Acting principal of Hansraj College, Rama Sharma, said they missed the deadline this year but she will ensure the college applies next year. “We were not aware of it. When we got to know about it, we tried to open the website but it said the last date has expired. We will apply next year,” she said.

P Hemalatha Reddy, principal of Sri Venkateswara College, said, “We missed the deadline as we were busy with some other inspections happening in college but we will surely apply for next year’s ranking list.”

Principal of SGTB Khalsa Jaswinder Singh too said the college will apply next year.

The rankings are crucial because government funding for institutions are dependent on them. Schools that do well in the NIRF will also be favourably viewed for greater autonomy and more international exposure, the government said.

More than 3,300 institutes were considered for the survey, which was first published in 2016 but didn’t include colleges because the response was poor.

The institutes were marked on 20 parameters under the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) that was launched last year.

The criteria used to rank the institutions included teaching/learning resources, research, graduation outcomes (employability), outreach/ social and gender inclusivity and perception. The government said it emphasised on the quality of research and employer perception during the exercise.