In Delhi’s Dhaula Kuan sits a college named Atma Ram Sanatan Dharma (ARSD) College that has, in the last 5 years, become one of DU’s best after securing a place among the top 10 colleges at rank 6 in NIRF ranking for the second year in a row. National Institute Ranking Framework (NIRF) is a ranking methodology adopted by the Union Ministry of Education to rank institutions of higher education in India.
Founded in 1959 by the Hindu organization Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha, the college has managed to be at par with well-known colleges like Miranda House, Lady Shri Ram College for Women, SRCC and St. Stephen’s College. Principal of ARSD college, GK Jha, talks to Ifrah Mufti.
Excerpts:
What factors led to the college attaining the 6th rank in NIRF rankings this year?
It is not only one factor but two major factors that led to a rank in the top 10 colleges. These are ‘research’ and ‘perception’ where we have seen ourselves improve a lot. Also, my confidence was always high. It was not the first time; we were ranked in the top 10. In 2017, we were ranked 5th as well but unfortunately slipped down to 14th rank in 2019. However, we are working hard towards this achievement.
What does the ‘perception’ parameter in the NIRF ranking mean?
It is Peer Perception- Employers & Academic Peer carrying 100 marks. This is to be done through a survey conducted over a large category of employers, professionals from reputed organizations and a large category of academics to ascertain their preference for graduates of different institutions. In 2017, we had secured only 0.021 out of 100 in this parameter while this year we have managed to secure approximately 40 percent.
Why has the college not been popular with students?
It is a perception of 100 years. The other colleges are very old. Their alumni base is very strong. One may feel that our perception never matches with the other institutions but we are trying to change it and gradually we are changing our perception. Very soon, our college will also be counted among the popular choices of the students.
When all the colleges come under DU then what makes the difference: faculty or the infrastructure?
A lot of parameters are responsible for this competition among the colleges. The NIRF ranking framework evaluates institutions on five parameters which are Teaching and Learning Resources, Research and Professional Practice, Graduation Outcome, Outreach and Inclusivity, and Perception. The college’s RP score has shown a marked increase from 30.54 in 2017 to 80.54 in 2023. Its perception score has also shot up from 0.21% to 39.64% this year. So, it is not only faculty or the infrastructure alone that matters.
The college is said to excel in research work. How many research papers have been published in recent past?
In 2022, the college saw 31 research papers by its students and faculty being published in international publications. In the last five years, over 780 papers have been published by the students, faculty and our library. Besides our research work, our students have excelled in different fields. This year in the research parameter, we have secured 80.54% while in 2017 when we secured the fifth position; we got only 30.54 in research.
What are the other achievements of the college?
Our college was awarded the best website award in 2019. Our faculty developed the website in-house and it is being maintained in-house unlike other colleges that have outsourced the job. We are the only college which hosts a four-day theatre festival which we have been doing for the past 10 years. In April, our college received the highest National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) score of 3.77 in the second cycle of grading. This is the highest grade so far for any DU college. This is a remarkable achievement due to the collective efforts of all the stakeholders of the college.