THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Students, wielding sticks and stones, waging a pitched battle with the police amid the firing of tear gas shells. The violence spilled onto the streets, bringing the heart of the city to a standstill.
Until a decade ago, such scenes used to be common at University College, then known as the hotbed of campus violence. Cut to present times and the institution is in the headlines, this time for being the top-ranked college in the state in the NIRF rankings yet again. This is the sixth consecutive year that the college has retained the top spot.
As per the rankings released by the Union Education Ministry, the 157-year-old University College is placed in the 26th position nationally, slipping from the 24th spot in 2022. It was ranked 25th nationally in 2021. The near-consistent ranking over the years is an indicator of the mismatch between public perception of an institution and its NIRF score based purely on academic parameters.
A detailed look at the college’s performance reveals it obtained a full score in faculty-student ratio with emphasis on permanent faculty; women diversity and facilities for the physically challenged. Faculty with PhD and experience also proved advantageous. However, in terms of peer perception — of both academic peers and employers — the college could score only 10.52 out of 100.
“The NIRF ranking is a shot in the arm for the college that is preparing for NAAC accreditation later this year. Achievements of students, quality of faculty and research excellence proved advantageous for the college,” said college principal T Subhash.
According to Mano Mohan Antony, convener of the Internal Quality Assurance Cell, University College has been the top choice of applicants in the single-window application process of Kerala University for UG and PG courses. The college also bags around 45 university ranks every year. It has 18 undergraduate and research departments and 21 PG departments.
Not the full picture?
However, there has been criticism from academic circles that NIRF rankings are only a partial reflection of the institution’s overall academic standards.“Placement of students is an important parameter, which the NIRF ignores. Also, it gives weightage only to macro statistics. For a big institution such as University College, having a large number of PG and research departments, the numbers always stack up to its advantage,” said a senior academic.
There are also complaints that NIRF rankings do not offer a comprehensive picture like NAAC accreditation that takes into account varied parameters backed by field visits. Interestingly, University College has ‘A’ grade accreditation from NAAC was ranked 26th, while state runner-up Rajagiri College of Social Sciences with ‘A++’ NAAC grade was at 30.
College over the years
Former Isro chairman Madhavan Nair, an alumnus of University college who passed out in the 1960s, recollects the tranquil atmosphere of the campus and how the institution was regarded in high esteem in academic circles. “We had an excellent faculty. The alumni from the time went on to adorn top positions in their fields. However, the college slipped into the vortex of campus politics a few decades later,” he said.
Actor-screenwriter Renji Panicker, alumnus of Kerala University Kariavattom campus, was a frequent visitor to University College as the then general secretary of the varsity department union. “Surprisingly, the campus violence that we witnessed never cast a shadow on the academic excellence of the institution. The college attracted the best minds and boasted of the best faculty of that time,” he said.
At a glance
Estd:1886
NIRF rank in 2023 among colleges: 26
NAAC grade: A
Depts: Research -
18, PG - 21, UG - 18
Teaching faculty: 223
Total Students: 3850
PG Students: 750