London: The much-awaited ‘Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2020’ is out. But it has left many in the academic circle disappointed.
It is the first time that none of the Indian universities has featured in the top 300 of the ranking since 2012.
The Indian Institute of Science still ranks highest but its position has slipped into the 301-350 bracket (from 251-300 cohort), due to a significant fall in its citation impact score, offsetting improvements in the research environment, teaching environment and industry income, said a statement issued by Times.
Overall, 56 Indian universities feature in the table, up from 49 last year. As a result, India holds on to its place as the fifth most-represented nation in the world and the third most-represented in Asia (behind Japan and mainland China). It has eight more universities than Germany, which is sixth in the country ranking, but 25 fewer than China.
Nonetheless, the absence of the big names in the top 200-300 has come as a setback for the nation which aspires to see its IITs and renowned universities among the top 100 in the world.
Academicians have pinned their hopes on the ‘Institution of Excellence’ scheme, which seeks to address this issue by pushing the rankings of the 20 identified institutes up into the top 100.
The top 16 in India:
The top 15 worldwide: