PUDUCHERRY: Former member of the Lok Sabha and Dean of Pondicherry University, M Ramadass, on Saturday expressed concern that no educational institution from the Union Territory has secured a place in either the global or national rankings. His comments followed the Quacquarelli Symonds's World University rankings (2024) list, where no institution from Puducherry was among the 69 Indian universities in the global top 500 list.
The Central University of Pondicherry not securing a spot comes as a "painful blow," considering its distinguished faculty and notable research output, he said. Citing the decline of the university's rank from 13 in 2016 to 68 in 2022 (as per the National Institutional Ranking Framework reports), he called for immediate introspection and remedial action to justify the public investment.
Ramadass said that the absence of a governing body and political interference has led to the stagnating performance of Puducherry Technical University (PTU). The failure of institutions like the National Institute of Technology, Karaikal, to secure top ranks further underscores the urgent need for reform and merit-driven leadership, he said, urging stakeholders to undertake thorough introspection. The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) should appoint a meritorious, competent, hard-working and devoted academic leader as its Vice-Chancellor to restore the university to its past glory, he added.