Chennai's Presidency College is 3rd best in India, thanks to focus on seminars and research

CHENNAI:  Presidency College has been ranked the third best college in the country in the NIRF rankings 2022, four rungs up from its seventh rank last year. The college now stands only after Miranda House College and Hindu College in Delhi. 

This is a major achievement for any college in the State and especially so for Presidency, which, until a few years ago, was notorious for student clashes. Meticulous planning and dedicated efforts of staff helped the 182-year-old college, which produced a long list of illustrious alumni including Nobel laureates Sir CV Raman and S Chandrasekhar, regain some of its lost glory. 

College officials said a dedicated roadmap was chalked out last year to improve the ranking of the institution. “Over the last year, at least 60 committees were formed to supervise and ensure overall growth of the institution,” said R Raman, principal of the college.

Besides, a special strategy was chalked out to improve the perception of the college. All 21 undergraduate (UG) and 21 postgraduate departments were directed to conduct seminars and workshops by engaging academicians of national repute. The efforts yielded the desired results as Presidency scored 70.23 out of 100 in the perception category.

“Every week, the college organises not fewer than 60 seminars and this helps us spread the legacy of Presidency College across the country. Our score in the perception parameter increased by almost 10 points in comparison with the previous year,” said Raman. The college plans to organise one international seminar per month in each department.

Improved research output and paper publications by faculty members, along with the impressive campus placements, also helped the college put up an impressive performance. “Almost 80% of our students are placed after completion of the courses,” claimed college officials.

NIRF judges colleges on the basis of five parameters — teaching learning resources (in which Presidency scored 74.48), research and professional practice (in which it scored 91.61),  graduation outcome, outreach and inclusivity, and perception (wherein the college scored 63.99, 51.16, and 70.23 respectively).
College officials highlighted that out of 3,316 UG students, only 873 are girls. As such, they are taking measures to attract more girl students (which will help it in improving its performance in the inclusivity parameter further).

The college, however, has its own burden of infrastructural problems in the form of classroom and hostel shortages. Officials, however, said measures were being taken to resolve this problem. “We have to spend a major chunk of funds on repair and renovation of our British-era college building. But, we are taking measures to build smart classrooms in the college. So far, we have managed to build one smart classroom in each of the departments,” said Raman.