Is the ranking system of colleges flawed?

Source: The post is based on an article “Is the ranking system of colleges flawed?” published in The Hindu on 16^th June 2023.

Syllabus: GS 2 – Issues Related to Education

Relevance: concerns with NIRF rankings

News: The 2023 National Institute of Ranking Framework (NIRF) rankings have recently been announced.

About the NIRF rankings

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A significant portion of the ranking is focused on the research and professional practices component of the evaluation since they place a high value on bibliometric measurements.

What are bibliometrics?

Bibliometrics refers to the measurable aspects of research, such as the number of papers published, the number of times they are cited, and the impact factors of journals.

The bibliometrics has been used as a measuring tool for assessing research due to its efficiency and convenience compared to qualitative assessments performed by subject experts, which are more resource-intensive and require time.

However, science policy experts have cautioned authorities against relying too much on bibliometrics as a complete assessment.

What is the issue with overly relying on bibliometrics?

Bibliometric indicators don’t fully capture the complexities of scientific performance, and there is a need for a more comprehensive evaluation methodology.

Further, the NIRF rankings have faced criticism regarding the effectiveness and fairness of its approach to ranking universities.

The NIRF relies on commercial databases like ‘Scopus’ and ‘Web of Science’ to obtain bibliometric data, but these databases are not immune to inaccuracies or misuse.

Moreover, the NIRF’s publication-metrics indicator only considers research articles, neglecting other valuable intellectual contributions such as books, book chapters, monographs, and non-traditional outputs.

As a result, the NIRF indirectly encourages researchers to prioritize work that is more likely to be published in journals, particularly international journals.

These hampers work that focuses on national and local issues, as international journals prefer work on topics of global significance.

Must Read: Why Delhi and Tamil Nadu colleges lead the way

Is the NIRF transparent?

University rankings, including NIRF, Times Higher Education World University Rankings, and QS World University Rankings, have generated controversy due to their flaws.

The NIRF is partly transparent as it publicly shares its methodology, but it doesn’t provide a detailed view.

The framework for assessment and scoring is based on bibliometric data. However, there are issues with how they define and evaluate research quantity and quality.

What can be the way ahead?

Due to the flaws present in the NIRF ranking, the emphasis on its rankings can foster unhealthy competition among universities and prioritizing metrics over the actual goal of measuring excellence in education and research.