HYDERABAD: The 100-year-old Osmania University’s perception among the public, it appears, is very poor. At least this is what the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) India Rankings-2019 released on Monday indicate.
While the State-run university has improved its ranking among universities in the country, from 28 in 2018 to 26 in the latest edition, in the ‘perception’ parameter, it has scored a lowly 9.26 out of 100 this time, a slight improvement from a deplorable 5.76 last year.
The National Institute of Technology (NIT) Warangal, which has been ranked lower than OU, has a better perception score at 19.51.
Interestingly, even in the case of University of Hyderabad (UoH), which has been ranked the fourth best among universities and 11 in the ‘overall’ category, the university’s perception score is a low 36.71.
Even in the case of Indian Institute of Technology-Hyderabad (IIT-H), that has been ranked 22 in the overall category, eighth under engineering colleges and tenth in the Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA) 2019 rankings, has a perception score of only 40.33.
In contrast, the top three institutions in the overall categories IIT Madras, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and IIT Delhi have a perception score of 94.14, 100 and 86.14 respectively.
Prof V Venkata Ramana, Vice Chairman, Telangana State Council of Higher Education ( TSCHE) said the problem of poor perception was because institutions do not put in a lot of effort on branding or building public perception and are of the view that their academic achievements and research are the best indicator of their performance. “TSCHE, however, is trying to change this by encouraging institutions to participate in such rankings. We are not fully geared up for it but we are taking baby steps. By 2020, we are confident that at least four to five state institutions will make it to the top ranks,” he said.
There is also a perception among the academics that institutions in the south, barring IITs and IISc, do not get the same attention that their counterparts in the north enjoy.
“The negative publicity that UoH has received is due to the media. More focus has been given to other issues than our academics,” said Prof Vinod Pavarala, spokesperson, UoH. He added that once focus shifts to institutional measures they have taken in students welfare, social justice and their academic works, public perception will turn around.