On 11th June, Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) released rankings of top higher educational institutions in India assessed in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF). The NIRF was launched in 2015 with the main objective of assessing the ranks of educational institutions of India. Rankings of 2020 were categorized into different categories depending on the various disciplines taught and type of higher educational institution. The participating educational institutions were divided into various categories viz. engineering, management, universities list, colleges list, pharmacy, medical, law, architecture, dental and overall list. It is quite heartening that the University of Kashmir and University of Jammu have once again figured among top 100 universities in India under the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF-2020) and also Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University (SMVDU) is placed at 78th rank among all the engineering institutes of the country. The University of Kashmir has figured at rank 48, thus ranking among the top 50 universities of India with the point Score of 46.99 in the ranking system which is really a good news for all its stakeholders. University of Jammu stands at 52 with the total point score of 46.55. This achievement by University of Kashmir is really significant despite the obstacles faced by our institutions of higher learning due to various unfavorable conditions. I have had the opportunity to visit the top Universities of India for my research/teaching purpose and the feedback which I received from the scholars/students/faculty enrolled/working there was really encouraging. I came to know that the research activities start beyond 4 p.m. there and that is totally opposite here in our state. So keeping this into consideration, being among the top 50 Universities despite the conditions prevailing here, it is really a big achievement for University of Kashmir. The University of Kashmir since the inception of NIRF rankings has improved its performance on the basis of parameters laid down in NIRF framework. It is clear with the ranking of University of Kashmir in different years since 2017 to present. In 2017, the university stood at 73rd rank in India among top universities, 47th in 2018, 53rd in 2019 and at present it is placed at 48th rank among the universities in India.
The different parameters on which University of Kashmir, University of Jammu, SMVDU were assessed included Teaching, Learning & Resources (TLR); Research and Professional Practice (RP); Graduation Outcomes (GO); Outreach and Inclusivity (OI) and Perception (PR).
