The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) 2025 rankings are likely to be announced in early August, following previous years' patterns. These rankings will be released by the National Board of Accreditation (NBA). The exact date and time will be shared by the Ministry of Education once confirmed.
Each year, the NIRF ranking evaluates India's higher education institutions based on key factors like teaching, learning, research, student outcomes, outreach efforts, and overall reputation.
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NIRF's ranking methods challenged
A recent study questions whether NIRF rankings truly measure teaching quality. It suggests that NIRF misses important aspects like classroom teaching, student happiness, and feedback from alumni, which show how well an institution actually performs.
Sustainability Joins University Ranking Criteria
NIRF 2025 rankings will now consider a new aspect: how well institutions support the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This includes factors like reducing environmental impact, promoting inclusive education, gender equality, and community involvement.
This new focus on SDGs will likely promote learning across different subjects and encourage colleges to do more than just focus on academics, like working on real-world issues.
Penalties for Retracted Research
For the very first time, the NIRF rankings will now reduce scores for colleges and universities that have withdrawn their research papers from journals. The NBA (National Board of Accreditation) has announced that they have a way to figure out how many points to take away, based on either the total number of papers pulled back or the percentage of an institution's papers that were withdrawn. This new rule is a way for NIRF to show it's serious about making sure research is honest and proper, and to stop any malpractice in academic work.
While the new features are a good step, experts and educators are still stressing that the ranking system needs to be broader and more complete. They're concerned because it still doesn't include student opinions, how well teachers are performing, or how much alumni are involved.
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