Recast this apples-and-oranges ranking method

• The ranking of State-run higher education institutions (HEIs) together with centrally funded institutions such as the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), the Indian Institute of Science, the National Institutes of Technology, central universities, etc. using the National Institutional Ranking Framework, or the NIRF (a methodology adopted by the Ministry of Education, Government of India, to rank institutions of higher education in India), is akin to comparing apples and oranges.
• The NIRF’s ranking of State-run and centrally-funded higher education institutions on a common scale is problematic.

About National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF):

• The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) was approved by the Ministry of Education (Erstwhile Ministry of Human Resource Development) in September 2015.
• It is the first-ever effort by the government to rank Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the country. Participation in NIRF was made compulsory for all government-run educational institutions in 2018.

National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) Assessment on Five Parameters:

• Teaching, Learning and Resources (TLR)
• Research and Professional Practice (RP)
• Graduation Outcomes (GO)
• Outreach and Inclusivity (OI)
• Peer Perception.
• Reason for launch for NIRF is the subjectivity in the ranking methodology developed by QS World University Rankings and the Times Higher Education World University Ranking led India to start its own ranking system for Indian HEIs on the line of Shanghai Rankings.
• NIRF is in its sixth year, but it continues to only rank Indian HEIs whereas Shanghai Rankings were international in character from the first year itself. The long-term plan of NIRF is to make it an international league table.

Why is NIRF ranking important?

• The credibility of the education institute is built by the NIRF ranking. The ranks attained by the educational institutions help students choose the best college to enroll in.
• Also, NIRF ranking promotes healthy challenge among different institutes to improve on their functioning and other aspects so as to attain a spot in this ranking.
• NIRF ranking is taken a reliable ranking for it is brought by the Ministry of Education. The clustered parameters on which institutions are ranked are weight-based.
• The public relations (PR) parameter has not been given much weight so as to avoid false claims and lead to credible ranking.