Enhance credibility of NIRF rankings

In a significant development, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has issued an interim stay order, temporarily barring the Union Education Ministry and the National Board of Accreditation (NBA) from releasing the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) rankings for 2025.

- Bhaskar Nath Biswal

This judicial intervention comes amid growing concerns about potential irregularities in the ranking process and follows petitions challenging the transparency and methodology of the NIRF evaluation system. The court's decision underscores the need for greater accountability in India's higher education ranking framework, which has faced criticism in recent years for alleged biases, data discrepancies, and lack of consideration for qualitative aspects of institutional performance. This pause in the publication of rankings provides an opportunity to re-examine and refine the assessment parameters to ensure they truly reflect educational quality and institutional excellence across India's diverse higher education landscape. The stay order will remain in effect until further hearings can address the substantive issues raised about the ranking process.