Indian universities fail to make Times Higher Education top 300 World University Rankings 2020; IISc slips down ranks

For the first time since 2012, India does not have any entry in the top 300 in World University Rankings 2020, published by UK-based Times Higher Education, (THE) which has a global ranking system of 1,300 universities in 92 countries, reports Live Mint.  The University of Oxford retained the top spot for the fourth consecutive year, while the California Institute of Technology rose from fifth to the second position. The University of Cambridge, Stanford University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology each fell by one place to third, fourth and fifth respectively. [caption id=“attachment_4050423” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru. Wikimedia commons[/caption] According to Hindustan Times, the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), which was the only Indian entry in the top 300 last year, has dropped positions from the 301-350 group due to a “significant fall” in its research citation impact. But, there has been an increase in the number of universities being represented in the list this year. Six universities are included in this year’s top 500 in THE World University Rankings 2020, a step-up in comparison to last year’s five universities. Indian Institute of Technology, Ropar made it to the top 350 on it’s debut in the list. IITs in Mumbai, Delhi, and Kharagpur have been placed in the 401-500 ranking bracket. But both IIT Kharagpur and IIT Delhi have stepped up by 100 ranks from the previous year, reports Times of India. With the increase in number of Indian universities in the overall 1,300-university list from 92 countries, 56  Indian universities featured in the table this year, a step up from 49 last year. India is the fifth most represented country on the list. Ellie Bothwell, THE rankings editor, told Live Mint: “India has a huge amount of potential in global higher education, given its rapidly growing youth population and economy and use of English-language instruction. However, it is disappointing to see the country fall out of the top 300 of the rankings this year, with only a small number of institutions registering progress.”