Forget the state rap, Mumbai varsity is among Asia's top 100

Forget the state rap, Mumbai varsity is among Asia's top 100


Mumbai: On the one hand, Mumbai University (MU) has recently been rapped by the state government for not getting a fresh accreditation from the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC). On the other hand, the university has made it to the list of top 100 universities in Asia.
The Top Universities ranking brought out by QS, one of the world’s leading networks in career and education, has MU at the 96th spot among the top 100 Asian universities. University of Calcutta is at 99 and Pune University at 109.
The universities have been rated on the basis of the quality of their research work, papers per faculty, citations per faculty, student-faculty ratio, graduate employability (Asian employer review) and internationalisation of institutions (exchange students, international faculty and international students).
“Mumbai University lacks in the internationalisation parameters, but has managed to score well in all other aspects,” Neeraj Hatekar, professor, MU’s department of Economics, said.
Hatekar added that in spite of MU being often criticised for not being up to the mark, it has managed to achieve several feats in the past few years under the leadership of former vice-chancellor Vijay Khole. The professor of economics said, “MU is the only state university to have improved its ranking. It is a prestigious moment for the 150-year-old university.” Mumbai University, which held the 130th rank last year, has moved up to 96. Pune University has moved down from 100 to 109.
An MU official said on condition of anonymity, “Our university has also managed to achieve the status of a university with potential excellence (UPE), which only 10 universities in the country have achieved. A university with UPE status gets grants in crores for research activities. Instead of tapping resources for the betterment of the university, the state government is diverting its focus to routine work like NAAC accreditation.”
Apart from the three leading universities of the country, most of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) have figured in the top 100 Asian universities/institutes. Devang Khakhar, director of IIT-Bombay, which has got the 36th rank, the best among the Indian institutions, said, “We have always figured on this list. Though we are happy about the ranking, we have never worked for it. We give best quality education and provide the best graduates to the industry. The rankings just follow.”
Though it has been rated the best among Indian institutions, IIT-Bombay’s position has actually slumped — from last year’s 30th to 36th this year. IIT-Bombay (163) and IIT-Delhi (181) also feature in the top-200 institutes in the world.


Source Link: http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_forget-the-state-rap-mumbai-varsity-is-among-asia-s-top-100_1383927