KOCHI: The rankings of Kochi colleges in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) 2023 have been significantly impacted by the perception factor, as the local community is not favourably inclined to educational institutions in their vicinity. These rankings have brought attention to the concerning issue of student exodus and the relatively low perception scores of colleges within the state.
According to V S Joy, the principal of Maharaja’s College, the college has shown improvement compared to the previous year. “The college has climbed 14 positions up the ladder, going from 60 in 2022 to 46 this year,” he said. However, Joy mentioned that the ranking could have been even better if the college had performed well in the perception parameter. The college only managed to score 18.40 out of 100 in this category.
The same sentiment was shared by Alphonsa Vijaya, principal of St Teresa’s College. “We scored badly in the perception parameter. It was a dismal 4.53,” she said. The ranking of the college fell 4 points to 41 from 37 in 2022.
She said, “This has been the case with all the higher education institutions in the state. The main reason is the exodus of the students to institutions abroad and the general perception created by this is that there is something wrong with the colleges in the state. Which is not the case!” Taking a serious note of the issue the colleges have decided to take the bull by the horn and implement measures to increase visibility.
“We were told that our student community was not diverse and that perception among the public is not favourable. We have decided to rectify that. We have decided to start programmes that will see the public get details of the academic and non-academic activities we are conducting in the college,” said Joy.
St Teresa’s has decided to beat their drums to increase visibility and hence the perception score.
“It was not our culture to blow our own horn. However, we will change that,” she added. As for the Union Christian College at Aluva which bettered its ranking by 20 points to rank 77 in 2023 from 97 in 2022, the institution is banking on the euphoria it generated among the public during its 100th anniversary celebrations.
“The details were not considered for the 2023 ranking. But it will be in the next and we will see our rank jump up. But more needs to be done and I believe that the teachers will work towards that goal,” said Rev. Thomas John, manager, of Union Christian College.
Rajagiri College of Social Sciences and Sacred Heart College Thevara too saw their ranks dropping. While Rajagiri fell three spots from 27 in 2022 to 30 in 2023, Sacred Heart College saw a massive fall from 59 in 2022 to 72 in 2023. +