Take part in ranking exercise, colleges nudged; govt plans workshops for encouragement
Telegraph | 29 December 2025
The state higher education department will hold workshops to encourage colleges to participate in the annual ranking exercise conducted by the Union education ministry, a department official said.
The official said greater participation in the ranking exercise would help colleges secure funds from funding agencies.
Madhumita Manna, the director of public instructions (DPI), said the participation of colleges from Bengal in the annual ranking exercise — National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) — was well below the desired level.
“Although we have been able to ensure that the colleges take part in the assessment through the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) over the years in increasing numbers, the participation of the colleges in the annual ranking exercise is not at a desired level. Through the workshop, we want to motivate the colleges to participate in the NIRF,” said Manna.
An official said that if more colleges took part in the ranking exercise and improved their rankings, it would help them attract bright students as well.
The workshops will begin from the first week of January and continue till mid-January next year.
Across the state, 13 workshops will be conducted.
Rupa Dasgupta, a principal of a government-aided college in West Midnapore who is working as an officer on special duty of the department, said the colleges like Lady Brabourne and the three institutes under the ambit of the Ramakrishna Mission that have performed well in the NIRF ranking exercise will be engaged as mentors to guide the institutes.
Of the three RKM colleges, Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Centenary College (Rahara), which ranked sixth among the colleges across the country, delivered the best performance among the colleges in Bengal.
Lady Brabourne College ranked 47th among the colleges across the country.
“They will guide the colleges on why it is important to take part in the ranking exercise. They would be told about the parameters like the teaching-learning outcome, graduation outcome and parameters that are considered by the education ministry while rating an Institute in NIRF,” said Dasgupta.
“It is extremely important that they manage their data,” she said.
All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) — a significant annual government initiative in India to collect data on all higher education institutions for policy-making, covering students, staff, and finance — frequently asks the state governments about the participation of the colleges in the annual ranking exercise, said an education department official.
“Even the NAAC asks about the status of participation in the NIRF. Of the 500-odd government and aided colleges, last year 297 colleges participated in the NIRF. We need to ensure all the colleges take part in the ranking exercise,” the official said.
Siuli Sarkar, the principal of Lady Brabourne College, said: “Our nodal officer for the NIRF will be visiting the colleges in Howrah and Hooghly districts that have been assigned under our watch to guide them on the annual ranking exercise.”