Lok Sabha Question No. 3710 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-03-24
Subject: Concerns Over NIRF Ranking
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Ms Sayani Ghosh

3710. Ms Sayani Ghosh:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  the  Government  has  taken  cognizance  of  the  concerns  raised  over  the  National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) ranking and if so, the details thereof;
- (b)  whether  the  Government  is  considering  to  reduce  the  weightage  of  peer  perception  in  the NIRF rankings or replacing it with more objective metrics given its subjectivity and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) the measures taken to address the allegations of regional bias in the NIRF rankings, which seem  to  favour  metropolitan  institutions  over  sub-urban  and  State-run  Higher  Education Institutions (HEIs);
- (d)  the  manner  in  which  the  Government  addresses  concerns  that  private  HEIs  with  larger advertising  budgets  and  outreach  capabilities  gain  an  unfair  advantage  in  peer  perception rankings; and
- (e)  the  reason  behind  the  NIRF  framework  not  include  direct  assessments  of  teaching  quality, such as classroom observations, student evaluations, and alumni feedback to ensure a more comprehensive evaluation of HEIs?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (DR. SUKANTA MAJUMDAR)

(a) to (e): To promote healthy competition among Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) was launched in 2015 by the Government of India for the annual ranking (called India Rankings) of these HEIs. The methodology of India Rankings is based  on  five  broad  parameters,  i.e.  'Teaching,  Learning  and  Resources,'  'Research  and Professional Practices,' 'Graduation Outcomes,' 'Outreach and Inclusivity,' and 'Peer Perception'.

NIRF invites feedback/inputs from the participating institutions and representatives of different disciplines/categories.  The  rankings  methodology  has  evolved  and  new  disciplines/categories have also been introduced over the years, on the basis of the aforesaid feedback and inputs. The disciplines/categories under NIRF ranking have increased from 4 in 2016 to 16 in 2024.

NIRF utilizes several factors including Peer Perception survey for Ranking of Institutions. NIRF has 10 per cent weightage for peer perception whereas weightage of 33 to 45 per cent is used by international agencies for rankings. In the Peer Perception survey the respondents provide details of the institutions at the national level as well as at the regional levels.

The Peer Perception survey is conducted over a large category of employers, professionals from reputed  organizations  and  academics  to  ascertain  their  preference  for  graduates  of  different institutions.

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No.  3710

ANSWERED ON 24.03.2025

## Concerns Over NIRF Ranking

The  NIRF  framework  takes  into  account,  complex  and  multi-layered  structure  of  higher education  in  India  with  the  diversity  of  disciplines,  quality  of  teaching  faculty,  university examinations, placements, higher studies, outreach and inclusivity, financial support etc.

NIRF uses quantitative ranking parameters to rank institutions based on the data submitted by institutions.

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