VIJAYAWADA: Major universities from Andhra Pradesh have made their mark in the eighth edition of National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) rankings, which were released by Union minister of state for education Rajkumar Ranjan Singh on Monday.
Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation University (KL University) in Vaddeswaram emerged as frontrunner securing 50th rank with an impressive score of 51.96 in the overall category, followed by Andhra University (AU) in Visakhapatnam secured 76th rank with a score of 48.54. While the Indian Institute of Technology Madras topped the chart with an 86.69 score.
The institutes were ranked under 13 categories and in the university category, four institutions from the State made their presence felt. KLU of Vaddeswaram, AU of Visakhapatnam, Sri Venkateswara University (SVU) of Tirupati, and Vignan’s Foundation for Science, Technology and Research of Guntur secured 28, 43, 60, and 75 ranks, respectively. These institutions showcased their excellence with scores of 54.52, 51.04, 48.18, and 45.40. Furthermore, four institutions of the State also stood in the top 100 Engineering colleges list with KLU securing 44th rank followed by Indian Institute of Technology in Tirupati situated in Yerpedu securing 59th rank, Vignan’s Foundation for Science, Technology and Research securing 85th rank, and AU College of Engineering (A) of Visakhapatnam securing 94th rank.
While no medical college from Andhra Pradesh secured a rank in the top 50, Vishnu Dental College of Bhimavaram achieved a commendable feat by securing 26th rank in the dental colleges’ category, out of the top 40 announced by NIRF, with a score of 54.41.
In the pharmacy colleges category, AU College of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Visakhapatnam, Sri Venkateswara College of Pharmacy of Chittoor secured 22 and 57 ranks with 58.10 and 47.37 scores respectively.
In the architecture and planning category, the School of Planning & Architecture in Vijayawada made its mark, securing 18th rank out of the 30 announced ranks, with an impressive score of 55.72. In the Agriculture and Allied sectors category, Acharya NG Ranga University of Guntur secured 20th rank with a score of 48.57, while SV Veterinary University of Tirupathi secured the 31st rank.
Speaking to TNIE, Vice Chancellor of KL University G Pardha Saradhi Varma expressed his elation over the institution’s remarkable achievement of securing three ranks in the prestigious NIRF rankings. “Despite facing stiff competition this year, KLU managed to surpass its previous scores and maintain its previous ranks.”
Varma acknowledged that the university had expected higher rankings nevertheless, he assured that the institution would redouble its efforts to attain top positions. Vice Chancellor of Dr YSR University of Health Sciences Babji congratulated the Vishnu Dental College of Bhimavaram on securing national rank.