New metrics and change in weightage to the existing faculty-student ratio saw the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore, usually the highest-ranking Indian institution, slip out of the top 225. When it comes to citations per faculty, Indian institutions score above global average, while performance in reputation-related metrics is in line with global averages. India’s influence in the field of research is good news. Further data-crunching is required to determine which disciplines and specialisations are ‘ahead’. What is needed is promoting further interest and capabilities in cutting-edge research across disciplines and institutions.
There are two broad areas where performance lags the global average – quality of teaching and internationalisation. The former includes faculty-student ratio, faculty recruitment and retention, essentially the qualitative ‘supply side’. This is reflected in low employment outcomes, demonstrating a mismatch between job requirements and graduate skills. Internationalisation – of student and faculty composition, and research networks – is vital in today’s transnational knowledge systems. Both are interrelated and must be addressed if Indian higher education institutions are to grow in influence and reputation. Addressing these deficiencies are particularly important as India hopes to take its top education brands – IITs and IIMs – abroad.
