The Indian Institute of Technology Madras has been ranked the best higher education institution in the country in the overall category and in the field of engineering education in the seventh edition of the National Institutional Ranking Framework released on Friday.
IIT Madras was ranked second only to the Indian Institute of Science in research. Institute Director V. Kamakoti, who received the awards from Union Minister for Education Dharmendra Pradhan in Delhi, dedicated the achievement to the students, the staff and the faculty. “The NIRF process gives a detailed feedback on our strengths and weaknesses. While we will continue to leverage our strengths, we will address the weaknesses to march forward,” he said.
Good haul of colleges
As many as 38 institutions from the State feature among the top 200 institutions in the overall category.
Some of the country’s best colleges are in Chennai. Presidency College reclaimed its position as the third best college, next only to Miranda House and Hindu College, New Delhi. Loyola College is ranked fourth. The Madras Christian College is ranked 17.
Four women’s colleges — Queen Mary’s (47), Ethiraj (65), Women’s Christian (72) and Stella Maris (76) — are among the top 76 colleges.
The Madras School of Social Work is ranked 38. Anna Adarsh; Bharathi Women’s; Guru Nanak; SDNB Vaishnav; DG Vaishnav; Dr. Ambedkar Government Arts College; Justice Basheer Ahmed; MOP Vaishnav; and New College are in the 101-200 rank band.
All the colleges are affiliated to the University of Madras. As many as 73 colleges in the State feature among the top 200 institutions in the country.
Not in top 10
Despite such a good performance by colleges, none of the State-run universities feature among the top 10 institutions. Three deemed institutions — Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Vellore Institute of Technology and SRM Institute of Science and Technology — are ranked above Anna University, which has secured the 20 th place, four down from 2021. Among the top 100 are 12 deemed universities.
Some universities have improved their ranking, while others have slipped several places. Bharathiar, Alagappa, Madurai Kamaraj, Bharathidasan and Periyar University have improved their rank, while Anna University has fallen. The University of Madras has fallen 11 places to 39 and Manonmaniam Sundaranar by 10 ranks to 80.
“We expected it. The measuring parameters are different,” said S. Gowri, Vice-Chancellor of Madras University. “Our faculty are extremely qualified. Faculty members are continuously engaged in research on the science campus, and the publications are progressing. Our own professors are guiding students from the affiliated colleges for Ph.D, but the university or the faculty do not get mentioned in the research articles they publish. The affiliating university is conducting the viva, approving the theses and also offering the degree but does not get recognition,” he said.
Thirteen of the best engineering institutions in the country are in Chennai. Besides IIT Madras and Anna University are six deemed universities, Indian Institute of Information Technology, Design and Manufacturing, and Anna University-affiliated colleges. The university is ranked 29 th in the field of architecture. The State is home to 11 best MBA programmes. While the MBA of IIT Madras ranks 10, Anna University’s is ranked 49.
Madras Medical College’s College of Pharmacy, ranked 63, is the only government institution to make the cut. JSS College of Pharmacy in Udhagamandalam, ranked 6 th in the country, tops the list in the State.
MMC is ranked 12 among medical colleges, while Christian Medical College, Vellore, is ranked third. Eight other colleges in this category are largely from deemed universities. Among dental colleges, Saveetha Dental College has been ranked the best.
