'Ranking Institutes Differently Based on Minute Differences is Demotivating, Give Same Rank, Says V Ramgopal Rao, Former Director IIT Delhi

V Ramgopal Rao, former director of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi has listed a few points to improve the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF). Stating that there is room for room for improvement in the NIRF ranking framework, Rao gave six suggestions for improving the National Institutional Ranking Framework.

Rao recently tweeted six suggestions for improving the National Institutional Ranking Framework. Along with sharing a proper document, he tagged the official pages of India’s Education Ministry and the Prime Minister’s Office, as well as Dharmendra Pradhan and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “Here are the 6 pointers for NIRF (National Institutional Ranking Framework), to further improve on the ranking framework,” wrote the IIT Director.

Have a look:

According to Rao, a parallel NIRF plus or international NIRF ranking should be created that compares India’s top 50 institutions to the world’s top 50 institutions. He believes this will set higher goals for educational institutions in India. “Time has come to create new goal posts now. Otherwise, it will be a sort of musical chairs at the top and will be a zero-sum game for the country,” reads the first point of the document.

In his second point, Rao proposed incorporating a peer-review system into the NIRF ranking, citing numerous complaints about the authenticity of the data submitted. He mentioned that lower-ranking institutes should verify the data submitted by higher-ranking institutes. He also asserted that doing so will assist those institutes in learning best practises and improving their performance. Additionally, Rao advocated for the rankings to be held every two years, as this would allow for more time for peer review.

Rao went on to suggest that institutions with similar scores should be assigned the same rank. In his opinion, ranking institutes differently based on minor differences will demotivate rather than motivate institutes. He wrote, “The purpose of any ranking is to motivate the institutions and applaud their achievements and not demotivate them.”

In the second last point, the former IIT Delhi director recommended autonomy for institutions that have consistently held top positions. He stated IITs and NITs which have been securing the top ten positions for three years should be granted full autonomy. He believes that without autonomy, these institutes will be unable to compete on a global scale. Ultimately, Rao advocated for publicly funded research and educational collaboration between tier 1 and tier 2 institutions.

Dharmendra Pradhan, the Education Minister of India, released the NIRF rankings 2022 on July 15. The Education Ministry evaluated and provided ranks to institutes, colleges and universities on the basis of various aspects such as teaching, research, and professional practices, among others.

Read all the Latest News, Breaking News, watch Top Videos and Live TV here.