Following the recent release of list of QS world rankings of top 200 colleges around the world, the issue had been the talk of the nation. 3 Indian universities had been included in the list – IIT Delhi, IIT Mumbai and IISc Bangalore. (To read more on the issue, click.)
Recently, when the issue was mentioned with the President, Sir Pranab Mukherjee expressed his rising concern regarding the degraded quality of education in institutes of higher learning in the nation. Even though it was pleasant to know better rankings to Indian institutes making the cut in the list, they are only a few.
The comment was made when the Mukherjee was receiving the 2018 edition of the GQ list. He said, while Indian institutes were fully equipped with developed infrastructure, the quality of education of many institutes was still a matter of concern.
“In ancient times, we had renowned seats of higher learning – Nalanda, Takshashila, Vikramashila, Valabhi, Somapura and Odantapuri that dominated the world higher education system for eighteen hundred years beginning sixth century BC.
“Scholars from round the globe flocked to these centers of learning in search of knowledge. A reverse scenario exists today. Many meritorious Indian students pursue their higher studies from foreign universities.
“Our higher learning institutions are capable of producing world-class scholars but lose them to foreign universities,” he said expressing concern at the trend.
The president said he always believed that the standards of Indian universities was higher than what these rankings suggested.
“Perhaps, it was the lack of importance given to the rankings process that stood in the way of our institutions being projected the way they should be.
“A high rank can boost the morale of the academic and student communities, open greater avenues of growth and placement for students, help attract the best faculty from across the world and provide a benchmark for continuous quality enhancement,” Mukherjee said.