Perception parameter a black box in NIRF rankings’: BITS Pilani Group V-C Ramgopal Rao urges more transparency

Abstract

With BITS Pilani entering the top 10 in the ‘universities’ category of the NIRF rankings this year for the first time since 2016, Prof V Ramgopal Rao, its Group Vice-Chancellor pointed to what worked for the institution this year and the issues he thinks are to be addressed in the rankings. Prof Rao, who is a former director of IIT Delhi, and has been a faculty member at both IIT Bombay and IIT Delhi, co-authored a paper – ‘Unpacking Inconsistencies in the NIRF rankings’ – published in the journal Current Science last year. The paper raised concerns about the reliability of the rankings, flagging issues like the “subjective” nature of the ‘perception’ parameter that is included in the rankings, inadequate transparency in the methodology, and reliance on data that is self-reported by institutions.