That awkward moment when JNU comes up in government's top 10 universities again
Bouquets after the brickbats. Colleges and universities have been in the news too often in the recent past, not always for the right reasons.
But thanks to a countrywide government ranking of educational institutions, they seem to be getting their due recognition for academic achievement.
According to the latest ranking, Delhi’s Miranda House and Bangalore’s Indian Institute of Science are India’s best college and university. The Jawaharlal Nehru University, which was at the eye of a storm over free speech versus nationalism debate, has been declared as the second-best university in the country.
The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) list was released by Union HRD minister Prakash Javadekar in New Delhi.
The Indian Institute of Technology-Madras has been ranked as the top engineering institute; deemed university Jamia Hamdard in Delhi is numero uno in pharmacy category.
Kolkata’s Jadavpur University – whose students too were slapped with anti-national criticism – was ranked fifth among universities.
The rankings are considered important since government funding for institutions depend on them. Schools that do well in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) will be provided more grants and funds besides being "favourably viewed for greater autonomy and more international exposure", the government said.
| JNU and Jadavpur University have done some good work especially in the field of science and therefore bagged top positions. |
More than 3,300 institutes were considered for the survey, which was first published in 2016. Colleges were included in the list for the first time this year. Prominent colleges that reportedly didn’t apply this year included Delhi’s St Stephen’s College, Hindu College, Delhi School of Economics, Ramjas and Hansraj colleges, among others.
The last one year has been an eventful period for freedom of speech in India, especially in educational institutes.
While it not uncommon for colleges and universities to be bastions of free speech, where dreamy-eyed students debate with fresh ideas determined to save the world, India saw massive violation of freedom of speech.
If last year saw student leaders being slapped with sedition charges and dragged to jails, this year, too, has already witnessed instances of violence and speakers being banned, seminars being stopped, and student being supressed, all in the name of “protecting Indian culture and the nation".
The irony couldn't be missed in HRD minister Javadekar's voice even as he took a dig at the student community while releasing the list. He didn't mince any words saying that these institutions got top positions in the India Ranking Report 2017 not because of Afzal Guru slogans, but for the good research work done by the students.
“JNU and Jadavpur University have done some good work especially in the field of science and therefore bagged top positions.”
While free speech or the lack of it on campuses will continue to remain a matter of grave concern, the recognition did come as a welcome move.