CHANDIGARH: For the first time since the inception of the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) in 2016, three private universities from Punjab have outperformed government-run institutions in the state. The rankings, released by Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in New Delhi, placed Chandigarh University, Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology in Patiala, and Lovely Professional University (LPU) in Phagwara as the top three higher education institutions in Punjab.
Chandigarh University secured the highest rank in the region, climbing to 32nd place nationally, up from 45th last year. It is noteworthy that the founder-chancellor of Chandigarh University is BJP leader and Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament, Satnam Singh Sandhu. The Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology was ranked 43rd, while LPU, founded by Aam Aadmi Party leader and Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Kumar Mittal, took the 45th spot.
In contrast, the rankings of government-run institutions in Punjab have declined. The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Ropar, which had consistently been the highest-ranked institution in the state for four consecutive years, dropped from 33rd to 48th place. Panjab University in Chandigarh fell to 60th position, down from 44th last year. The Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) in Mohali was ranked 64th, while Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) in Ludhiana dropped to 80th position. However, PAU secured the third spot in the agriculture and allied sectors category.
Two prominent government-run educational institutions from Punjab, the National Institute of Technology in Jalandhar and Guru Nanak Dev University in Amritsar, failed to make it to the top 100 this year. Last year, they were ranked 72nd and 87th, respectively.
In the neighboring state of Himachal Pradesh, only two institutions made it to the top 100: the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Mandi, ranked 72nd, and Shoolini University of Biotechnology and Management, ranked 89th. No institutions from Haryana were featured in the top 100 this year.
The NIRF rankings evaluate higher education institutions on five broad parameters: teaching, learning, and resources; research and professional practice; graduation outcome; outreach and inclusivity; and perception. Chandigarh University and LPU performed better than government-run institutions in the outreach, inclusivity, and perception categories.
In the college category, no college from the region made it to the top 100.
However, in the top 50 medical colleges in the country, Maharishi Markandeshwar (Deemed to be University) was ranked 35th, Dayanand Medical College was ranked 40th, Christian Medical College was ranked 49th, and Pandit Bhagwat Dayal Sharma University of Health Sciences in Rohtak secured the 50th position.