QS Rank and Institution of Eminence

Subject: Scheme/ Social sector

Context:

Most of India’s top higher education institutions including at least 10 Institution of Eminences (IoE) have slipped in the latest edition of the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings (WUR) released recently.

Concept:

Report findings:

• Overall, 21 Indian universities and institutes have found a place this year among the world’s top 1,000. But last year it was 25.
• The ranking agency attributed the “regressive performance” of Indian institutions to low levels of internationalization and faculty-student ratio.
• While no Indian institution is among the world’s top 100, there are, however, 26 Asian universities that have made it. Of them, Mainland China and South Korea have six each, Hong Kong and Japan have five each, Singapore has two universities and Malaysia and Taiwan have one each.

Institution of Eminence

About:

• Institutions of Eminence scheme has been launched in order to implement the commitment of the Government to empower the Higher Educational Institutions and to help them become world class teaching and research institutions, as announced by the Hon’ble Finance Minister in his budget speech of 2016.
• Ten public and ten private institutions are to be identified to emerge as world-class Teaching and Research Institutions. This will enhance affordable access to high quality education for ordinary Indians.
• Every institute which has been accorded the status of Institute of Eminence will enjoy benefits which include additional funding, autonomy in recruitment, assessment patterns The detailed benefits have been listed out below:
  • Government Institutions to get additional funding upto 1000 Cr.
  • The selected Institutions under IoE shall have complete academic and administrative autonomy. The Institutions of Eminence will have complete financial autonomy to spend the resources raised and allocated, subject to general conditions & restrictions of the Statutes and GFR.
  • Academic collaborations with foreign higher educational institutions (in top 500) would be exempt from government approvals.
  • Freedom to hire personnel from industry, etc, as faculty who are experts in their areas but may not have the requisite higher academic qualifications.
  • Freedom to recruit faculty from outside India (limit of 25% of its faculty strength for public institution).
  • Freedom to offer courses within a program as well as to offer degrees in newer areas, including inter-disciplinary ones, after approval of its Governing Council and conforming to the minimum prevailing standards.
  • Students enrolment capacity to be 10,000 in 15 years. (Lower figure permitted with justification)
  • Faculty Student Ratio should be 1:20 at the time of Notification and should increase to 1:10 in five years.