DC Edit | Honours for India’s elite univs

The latest QS global rankings of universities points to a heartening improvement in the quality of education, research and adaptation of the best universal practices in imparting education by Indian universities.

More than the fact that 69 elite institutions have made it to the global ranking list, the fact that 72 per cent of Indian entries have either improved or maintained their rankings is a clear indication that India is catching up with the best in the world regarding university education.

Indian universities are also said to have displayed remarkable performances in science subjects and in business studies. With an AI-driven future on the horizon, proficiency in computer science, physics and chemistry and biological sciences may become even more of a prerequisite for success in landing jobs in the changing environment and finding fulfilling lives.

Of course, we are talking of elite schools in science and technology and business management offering professional courses, as in the IITs and the IIMs, where the best rankings results are being achieved year after year. The 12 Institutes of Eminence, with 47 IoE positions in the top 100, have contributed to the sanguine Indian higher education scenario.

The news must also be welcomed that the JNU leads all other Indian colleges and universities in social development studies, so there can be no complaint of the improvements being of one dimension of STEM or management studies. Knowledge in any field is power.

The explosion of research activity making Indian students and their teachers and guides the fourth largest producer of (around 1.3 million) papers after China, the US and UK is a clear sign that the mode of teaching has moved on from lectures and rote learning to a more diverse orientation wherein the student is thinking while learning. International researchers have also been helping refine this process, as evident in a 16 per cent jump in research.

It must, however, be stressed that the rankings indicate Indian elite schools are shining even as much remains to be done to improve the access to higher education for all Indian students. The difficulties of getting into desired elite schools of learning are too well-known in our self-defeating world of huge numbers.