The Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (TANUVAS) has been ranked first among the 15 State veterinary universities in India by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) in its recent (2020) rank list.
“The list was released only at the end of 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Dr. P. Tensingh, Registrar of TANUVAS.
ICAR ranks the agricultural universities, including veterinary, horticulture and fisheries universities, based on a set of quality indicators. The major parameters are teaching, resources and outcome, research impact and excellence, extension and outreach and peer recognition.
“TANUVAS has taken the 12th place on the list of agriculture, veterinary, horticulture and fisheries universities across the country. It is a significant achievement, because it [TANUVAS] has moved from the 41st rank in 2017 to the 12th rank in 2020. Among veterinary universities, it tops the list,” Mr. Tensingh said.
It has scored 30 marks for the parameters covered under teaching and outcome. This includes faculty-student ratio, percentage of regular faculty positions filled, percentage of regular faculty with Ph.D. degrees, students’ pass percentage, students’ performance in examinations, students’ performance in national-level competitive examinations and effective utilisation of electronic resources for education and research.
Its score for the parameters under research is also 30 marks. The marks were awarded by evaluating research publications indexed per faculty by the Scopus database, the h-index of the university, research excellence viz. patents granted, varieties released, breeds/technologies/vaccines developed, new farm machinery/tools developed and funds received through external competitive grants.
It also scored 30 marks for the parameters under extension and outreach. The score is normally awarded by taking into account the training organised for the Subject Matter Specialist (SMC) of Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs), NGOs, frontline extension programmes, farmer-oriented radio broadcasts, television broadcasts, Kisan melas organised, extension units created, use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in extension services, revenue generated by the university, performance in All-India Agricultural Sports Meet, students from overseas, etc.
When it came to peer recognition, TANUVAS scored 10. The score is based on the awards received by the faculty, students and staff of the university at the national and international levels.
Mr. Tensingh said the ranking would give weightage to TANUVAS to get funds from the National Livestock Project, NABARD and other government projects.
