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GS Paper: GS2-13.Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.

  • [pib] United District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) 2019-20

    The Union Education Minister has released the Report on United Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) 2019-20 for School Education in India.

    What is UDISE+?

    • UDISE+ is one of the largest Management Information Systems on school education.
    • It covers more than 1.5 million schools, 8.5 million teachers and 250 million children.
    • Launched in 2018-2019, UDISE+ was introduced to speed up data entry, reduce errors, improve data quality and ease its verification.
    • It is an updated and improved version of UDISE, which was initiated in 2012-13 by the Ministry of Education under the UPA govt by integrating DISE for elementary education and SEMIS for secondary education.

    Why is it important?

    • As per the UDISE+ website, “Timely and accurate data is the basis of sound and effective planning and decision-making.
    • Towards this end, the establishment of a well-functioning and Sustainable Educational Management Information System is of utmost importance today.”
    • In short, the UDISE+ helps measure the education parameters from classes 1 to 12 in government and private schools across India.

    What does the 2019-20 report say?

    • The total enrolment in 2019-20 from primary to higher secondary levels of school education was a little over 25.09 crore.
    • Enrolment for boys was 13.01 crore and that of the girls was 12.08 crore.
    • This was an increase by more than 26 lakh over the previous year 2018-19.

    (1) Pupil-teacher ratio improves

    • The Pupil-Teacher Ratio — the average number of pupils (at a specific level of education) per teacher (teaching at that level of education) in a given school year — showed an improvement all levels of school education in 2019-2020 over 2012-2013.

    (2) GER improves

    • The gross enrolment ratio (GER), which compares the enrolment in a specific level of education to the population of the age group which is age-appropriate for that level of education has improved at all levels in 2019-2020 compared to 2018-2019.
    • The GER increased to 89.7 percent (from 87.7 percent) at Upper Primary level, 97.8 percent (from 96.1 percent) at Elementary Level, 77.9 percent (from 76.9 percent) at Secondary Level and 51.4 percent (from 50.1 percent) at Higher Secondary Level in 2019-20 compared to 2018-19.
    • GER for girls at secondary level has gone up by 9.6 percent to reach 77.8 percent in 2019-20 compared to 68.2 percent in 2012-13.

    (3) Phyical infrastructure improves, but computers and internet access remain lacking

    • The report stated that just 38.5 percent of schools across the country had computers, while only 22.3 percent had an internet connection in 2019-20.
    • This is an improvement over 2018-2019 when 34.5 percent of schools had computers and a mere 18.7 percent of schools had internet access.

    Key takeaways

    • While physical infrastructure is steadily improving, the digital infrastructure for schools has a long way to go.
    • With the overwhelming majority of schools have neither computers (61 percent) nor internet access (78 percent), achieving the Centre’s ‘Digital India’ vision when it comes to online education is still some ways off.
    • The vast increase in hand wash facilities is a big step towards the fulfilment of the Modi government’s ‘Swachh Bharat’ push.
    • The Gross Enrolment Ratio improving at all levels of school education in 2019-20 compared to 2018-19 is a plus.
    • While 93 lakh more boys enrolled in education than girls, when it comes to GER, the girls pulled ahead.

  • Ed-tech in India

    The article suggests a policy formulation for future of the learning with the adoption of technology.

    Learning crisis facing and finding solutions through technology

    • India was facing a learning crisis, even before the Covid-19 pandemic, with one in two children lacking basic reading proficiency at the age of 10.
    • The pandemic worsened it with the physical closure of 15.5 lakh schools that has affected more than 248 million students for over a year.
    • With the Fourth Industrial Revolution — the imperative now is to reimagine education and align it with the unprecedented technological transformation.
    • The pandemic offers a critical, yet stark reminder of the impending need to weave technology into education.

    Is India prepared for integrating technology in learning?

    • India’s new National Education Policy (NEP) 2020envisions the establishment of an autonomous body, the National Education Technology Forum (NETF).
    • The NETF will spearhead efforts towards providing a strategic thrust to the deployment and use of technology.
    • India is well-poised to take this leap forward with increasing access to tech-based infrastructure, electricity, and affordable internet connectivity.
    • Flagship programmes such as Digital India and the Ministry of Education’s initiatives, including the Digital Infrastructure for School Education (DIKSHA), open-source learning platform and UDISE+  will help in this direction.
    • However, we must remember that technology cannot substitute schools or replace teachers.
    • It’s not “teachers versus technology”; the solution is in “teachers and technology”.
    • In fact, tech solutions are impactful only when embraced and effectively leveraged by teachers.

    Four key elements for ed-tech policy architecture

    • A comprehensive ed-tech policy architecture must focus on four key elements:
    • Access: Providing access to learning, especially to disadvantaged groups.
    • Enable: Enabling processes of teaching, learning, and evaluation.
    • Teacher training: Facilitating teacher training and continuous professional development.
    • Governance: Improving governance systems including planning, management, and monitoring processes.

    Ed-tech ecosystem in India

    • With over 4,500 start-ups and a current valuation of around $700 million, the ed-tech market is geared for exponential growth.
    • There are, in fact, several examples of grassroots innovation.
    • The Hamara Vidhyalaya in Namsai district, Arunachal Pradesh, is fostering tech-based performance assessments.
    • Assam’s online career guidance portal is strengthening school-to-work and higher-education transition for students in grades 9 to 12.
    • Samarth in Gujarat is facilitating the online professional development of lakhs of teachers in collaboration with IIM-Ahmedabad.
    • Jharkhand’s DigiSATH is spearheading behaviour change by establishing stronger parent-teacher-student linkages.
    • Himachal Pradesh’s HarGhar Pathshala is providing digital education for children with special needs.

    Way forward

    1) Short term policy formulation

    • In the immediate term, there must be a mechanism to thoroughly map the ed-tech landscape, especially their scale, reach, and impact.
    • The policy formulation and planning process must strive to:
    • 1) Enable convergence across schemes– education, skills, digital governance, and finance.
    • 2) Foster integration of solutions through public-private partnerships, factor in voices of all stakeholders.
    • 3) Bolster cooperative federalism across all levels of government.
    • Special attention must be paid to address the digital divide at two levels: access and skills.
    • Thematic areas of the policy should feature infrastructure and connectivity; high-quality software and content; and global standards for outcome-based evaluation, real-time assessments, and systems monitoring.

    2) Long-term policy measures

    • In the longer term, as policy translates to practice at local levels a repository of the best-in-class technology solutions, good practices and lessons from successful implementation must be curated.
    • The NITI Aayog’s India Knowledge Hub and the Ministry of Education’s DIKSHA and ShaGun platforms can facilitate and amplify such learning.

    Conclusion

    With NEP 2020 having set the ball rolling, a transformative ed-tech policy architecture is the need of the hour to effectively maximise student learning.

  • NITI Aayog releases study on ‘Not-for-Profit’ hospital model

    NITI Aayog has released a comprehensive study on the not-for-profit hospital model in the country, in a step towards closing the information gap on such institutions and facilitating robust policymaking in this area.

    ‘Not-for-Profit’ hospitals

    • The “Not-for-Profit” Hospital Sector has the reputation of providing affordable and accessible healthcare for many years.
    • This sector provides not only curative healthcare, but also preventive healthcare, and links healthcare with social reform, community engagement, and education.
    • They utilize the resources and grants provided to them by the Government to provide cost-effective healthcare to the population without being overly concerned about profits.
    • However, this sector remains largely understudied, with a lack of awareness about its services in the public domain.

    Significance for India

    • As per the NITI Aayog’s report, the not-for-profit hospitals account for only 1.1% of treated ailments as of June 2018.
    • The report further revealed that for-profit hospitals account for 55.3% of in-patients, while not-for-profit hospitals account for only 2.7% of in-patients in the country.
    • The cumulative cost of care at not-for-profit hospitals is lesser than for-profit hospitals by about one-fourth in the in-patient department.
    • This is reckoned by the package component of cost, which is approximately 20% lower, the doctor’s or surgeon’s charges, which are approximately 36% lower and the major aspect being the bed charges, which are approximately 44% lower than the for-profit hospitals.

    NITI Aayog’s approach

    • Categorization of the prominent not-for-profit hospitals based on the premise of services and their ownership
    • Understanding the business model of the hospitals i.e. the financial viability, and their dependence on donations and grants
    • Understanding the challenges faced by these hospitals
    • Formulation of recommendations for policy interventions to promote the sector

    Categories of such hospitals

    Using the above-mentioned approach and secondary research, the following four categories were defined for the not-for-profit hospitals:

    1. Faith-based Hospitals
    2. Community-based Hospitals
    3. Cooperative Hospitals
    4. Private Trust Hospitals

    Why need such hospitals?

    • There has been relatively low investment in the expansion of the health sector in the private domain.
    • The not-for-profit hospital sector provides not only curative but also preventive healthcare.
    • It links healthcare with social reform, community engagement, and education.
    • It uses government resources and grants to provide cost-effective healthcare to people without being concerned about profits.

  • Tackling vaccine hesitancy challenge in rural India

    In rural India, concerns about COVID-19 vaccines are now increasingly commonplace.

    Vaccination dilemma these days

    • People voice their concern about what will happen to them if they get vaccinated and have doubts that the government is sending inferior quality vaccines to them.
    • Vaccination sessions in local health centers often see very few or no takers.
    • In contrast, urban vaccination sites face increased demand, especially in the 18-45 age group, and vaccine shortage is a major issue.
    • From a public health and equity perspective, this is a cause for worry.

    Why this failure?

    • The fear of vaccines and rural communities not only resisting but also outright rejecting vaccination is a reality.
    • Efforts by local health authorities to create awareness and convince people are of little avail.
    • There are contrasting dimensions to the COVID-19 vaccine rollout: one where people are enthusiastically accepting it and the other of resistance.
    • There are many diverse factors at play in this, which may go beyond the health concerns and have more to do with socio-anthropological aspects of health-seeking behavior.

    Vaccine hesitancy

    • Vaccine hesitancy refers to delay in acceptance or refusal of vaccines despite the availability of vaccine services.
    • It is complex and context-specific varying across time, place, and vaccines.
    • It is influenced by factors such as complacency, convenience, and confidence.

    Its scope

    • Vaccine hesitancy is not a recent phenomenon. It is neither limited to a particular community or country nor have we seen it only in the context of COVID-19.
    • We have also seen vaccine hesitancy among the urban and the more educated or ‘aware’ populations, with pockets of populations of socio-economically well-off communities refusing to get their kids vaccinated.
    • While vaccine hesitancy can lead to a firm rejection of vaccines, there’s also a possibility of people changing their perceptions over time.

    Socio-cultural context behind

    • Most of our fears and apprehensions stem from a deep impact of something adverse or unfavorable that we have personally experienced or our social circles have experienced.
    • Over time these become our beliefs, our innate guards.
    • In the context of the concerns described at the beginning of this article, we must look at vaccine hesitancy from a distinct lens of fear and not necessarily skepticism for new vaccines.
    • Rather, they seem to indicate deep-seated fears and belief in conspiracies, the fear of perhaps being discriminated and deceived, and of being omitted (from societal benefits).

    Building trust

    • Communities might not see the impact of a vaccine instantly, as it’s usually preventive in nature rather than curative.
    • People are used to taking medications or intravenous fluids when they are unwell or in pain, and they may feel better almost immediately, but that’s not the case with vaccines.
    • On the contrary, vaccines administered to a healthy person may lead to occasional side effects like fever, body aches, etc.
    • Add to those rumors about deaths post-vaccination, and it may not be so easy for people to get convinced about the vaccines.

    Way ahead

    • Addressing vaccine hesitancy in rural India would first of all require health systems to be honest and transparent.
    • Create awareness, let people know how vaccines work, how they help prevent disease, what are the probable side effects and how they can be managed.
    • Health authorities need to be comfortable about people raising questions while providing the answers as best as possible.
    • Being cognizant of local cultural sensitivities and working with trusted intermediaries is important in this effort.
    • Sustained and meaningful efforts need to be made to build trust, gain the confidence of communities and meet their expectations.
    • Even more crucial is to engage communities in planning, execution, and monitoring of health care services at all levels.

  • Blended mode of teaching

    Blended mode of teaching and its advantages

    • A recent circular by the University Grants Commission (UGC) proposes that all higher educational institutions (HEI) teach 40% of any course online and the rest 60% offline termed as blended learning (BL).
    • The UGC argues that this “blended mode of teaching” and learning paves the way for:
    • 1) Increased student engagement in learning.
    • 2) Enhanced student-teacher interactions.
    • 3) Improved student learning outcomes.
    • 4) More flexible teaching and learning environments, among other things.
    • 5) Other key benefits such as the increased opportunity for institutional collaborations at a distance and enhanced self-learning accruing from blended learning (BL).
    • 6) BL benefits the teachers as well. It shifts the role of the teacher from being a “knowledge provider to a coach and mentor”.
    • 7)  The note adds that BL introduces flexibility in assessment and evaluation patterns as well.

    Challenges

    • All India Survey on Higher Education (2019-20) report shows that 60.56% of the 42,343 colleges in India are located in rural areas and 78.6% are privately managed.
    • Only big corporates are better placed to invest in technology and provide such learning.
    • Second, according to datareportal statistics, Internet penetration in India is only 45% as of January 2021.
    • This policy will only exacerbate the existing geographical and digital divide.
    • Third, BL leaves little room for all-round formation of the student that includes the development of their intelligent quotient, emotional quotient, social quotient, physical quotient and spiritual quotient.
    • The listening part and subsequent interactions with the teacher may get minimised.
    • Also, the concept note assumes that all students have similar learning styles and have a certain amount of digital literacy to cope with the suggested learning strategies of BL.
    • This is far from true. Education in India is driven by a teacher-centred approach.

    Suggestions

    • The government should ensure equity in access to technology and bandwidth for all HEIs across the country free of cost.
    • Massive digital training programmes must be arranged for teachers.
    • Even the teacher-student ratio needs to be readjusted to implement BL effectively.
    • This may require the appointment of a greater number of teachers.
    • The design of the curriculum should be decentralised and based on a bottom-up approach.
    • More power in such education-related policymaking should be vested with the State governments.
    • Switching over from a teacher-centric mode of learning at schools to the BL mode at the tertiary level will be difficult for learners.
    • Hence, the government must think of overhauling the curriculum at the school level as well.
    • Finally, periodical discussions, feedback mechanisms and support services at all levels would revitalise the implementation of the learning programme of the National Education Policy 2020, BL.
    • It will also lead to the actualisation of the three cardinal principles of education policy: access, equity and quality.

    Conclusion

    Government must take steps to address the concerns with blended learning before implementing it.

  • Centre must make way for states in Covid fight

    The States are better equipped to deal with the health emergencies and the Centre needs to augment them in their efforts. The article deals with this issue.

    Role of the States in health crisis

    • Covid-19 pandemic is a national crisis calling for concerted efforts by both, the Government of India (GoI) and state governments.
    • Health is a state subject, and the states have been pioneering many health programmes on their own, some with support and funding from the GoI, for a very long time.
    • The number of employees in the health wing of the GoI is negligible as compared to that in any state government.
    • The GoI must help them, motivate them to do better and assist them in their task.
    • Also, the GoI must and can play a major role is in vaccination.

    Role of the Central government

    • It must try to augment supplies by encouraging companies to produce more and through imports/gifts.
    •  However, whatever it procures must be allotted to states in proportion to their eligible population.
    • State governments must be involved in this policy.
    • The vaccination policy may be left to the state governments based on the allocation. 
    • The GoI must also augment supplies of critical medical goods through imports and donations from friendly nations in view of their acute shortage.
    • It must distribute them to the needy states transparently and equitably.

    Steps that need to be taken

    • Lockdowns need to be lifted in a calibrated manner depending on local conditions.
    • Lockdowns are not the solution, they just buy breathing time which can be used by governments to ramp up capacity.
    • State governments must set up efficient and well-functioning control rooms and telemedicine centres to guide people on home treatment and timely admission to hospitals.
    • The private sector can also be fully involved in these efforts.
    • Bed capacity must be increased in both private and public sectors, with all necessary requirements such as oxygen, medicines, and health workers.
    • It is also important to put in place a standard guidance protocol for health workers and control rooms to guide patients through the disease.
    •  Enforcement of masks and distancing in public places must go on till the country is fully vaccinated.
    • The measures suggested above require hard work and efficient management by state governments, by a team of reputed professionals and civil servants.
    • Daily briefing by a professional, not a politician, is the need of the hour at both the Centre and state level, giving some confidence and assurance to the public.

    Consider the question “In dealing with the health crisis the Union Government and the State governments are better placed for certain roles.  In light of this, examine the important role of the States in dealing with the Covid pandemic and how the Union government can complement it.”

    Conclusion

    The central government must realise that states are on the forefront in this war, and therefore, play a supporting and proactive role. It has only a minor, behind-the-scenes role in the health sector.

  • Challenges in Vaccinating All

    Reoriented vaccine policy

    • The foremost challenge in vaccination in India has been a supply deficit.
    • Announcing a reoriented vaccine policy recently, the Prime Minister announced a coherent path forward.
    • Starting from June 21, the Union government will take charge of 75 per cent of the total procurement, and provide vaccines to states at no cost.
    • The government has reserved 30 crore vaccines with Hyderabad-based Biological-E by facilitating an advance payment of Rs 1,500 crore.
    • Fortnightly updates on the supply of vaccines to states are being taken to ensure transparency and efficiency in planning.

    Dealing with two complex challenges

    • Two other complex challenges that need immediate focus are vaccine hesitancy and the much-discussed digital divide in the country.

    1) Challenge of vaccine hesitancy

    • Contextualised and curated approaches are crucial.
    • The WHO has put forth the BeSD (behavioural and social drivers) vaccination model, which emphasises “motivation” as the vanguard of human psychology during a vaccination drive.
    • Vaccination coverage could be increased by incentivising and motivating citizens.
    • Unfortunately, in India, misinformation, disinformation and misplaced beliefs have led to fears about the potential harmful effects of vaccines.
    • The diversity of India necessitates community engagement at the local level to counter this narrative of misinformation.
    • A successful information campaign requires dissemination through mediums that invoke trust.
    • Local languages and dialects should be used to engage people via local radio, television channels and regional newspapers.
    • Another network that can be leveraged at the district level is that of the ASHA workers and the auxiliary nurse-midwives.
    • These are trusted local figures.

    2) Bridging the digital divide

    • It is important to introduce solutions that bridge the digital divide.
    • A toll-free helpline number 1075 has been activated for those without internet.
    • Similarly, districts can explore missed-call campaigns, which could ensure that minimal infrastructure is being optimised for processing high-volume user requests.
    • Even though the reported adverse events following immunisation stands at only 0.012 per cent, dedicated representatives can provide vaccine-related pre- and post-counselling to individuals.

    Way forward

    Startups could help bridge digital divide

    • The devastating effects of the second wave in rural areas have prompted fintech startups to enable vaccine registration.
    • PayNearby has helped over 8 lakh citizens register through its network of agents called “digital pradhans”, who are present in kirana, ration, mobile and hardware stores, frequented regularly by rural users. 

    Use points of contact for publicising benefits of vaccine and registration

    • Almost 81 crore beneficiaries, 75 per cent of whom are in rural areas, procure ration from 5,46,165 fair price shops across India.
    • There are over 11 lakh business correspondent outlets in India working mostly in rural areas to advance the mission of financial inclusion.
    • A network of around 1,54,965 post offices (as on March 2017) exists in India of which 1,39,067 are in the rural areas.
    • Such points of contact can be leveraged as dedicated units for publicising the benefits of Covid vaccines and as physical locations for vaccine registration

    Direct engagement with citizens

    • The Prime Minister recently described district officials as “field commanders” in our efforts against Covid.
    • This ambit should move beyond just the district bureaucracy to the extensive network of public services. 
    • A stellar example of direct engagement also stems from the success of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.
    • Direct engagement with citizens contributed greatly to the operational success of previous immunisation campaigns like the pulse polio programme.

    Consider the question “What are the factors responsible for vaccine hesitency? Suggest the ways to deal with it.”

    Conclusion

    Thinking local and utilising established networks to create culturally resonant messages is the need of the hour to reduce vaccine hesitancy, bridge the digital divide and achieve vaccine saturation.

     

  • [pib] All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) 2019-20

    Union Education Minister has announced the release of the report of All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) 2019-20.

    This newscard provides useful data about the state of higher education in India on various parameters. Such data should not be missed while substantiating any point in answer writing.

    About AISHE

    • AISHE was established by the Ministry of HRD for conducting an annual web-based survey, thereby portraying the status of higher education in the country.
    • The survey is conducted for all educational institutions in India on many categories like teachers, student enrolment, programs, examination results, education finance, and infrastructure.
    • This survey is used to make informed policy decisions and research for the development of the education sector.
    • This Report provides key performance indicators on the current status of Higher education in the country.

    Highlights of the 2019-20 Report

    (1) Total Enrolment

    (2) Gross Enrolment Ratio

    (3) Gender Parity Index (GPI)

    • GPI in Higher Education in 2019-20 is 1.01 against 1.00 in 2018-19 indicating an improvement in the relative access to higher education for females of eligible age group compared to males.

    (4) Pupil-Teacher Ratio

     

    • TPR in Higher Education in 2019-20 is 26. In 2019-20: Universities: 1,043(2%); Colleges: 42,343(77%) and stand-alone institutions: 11,779(21%).

    (5) Enrolment in higher education

    • 38 crore Students enrolled in programs at under-graduate and post-graduate levels.
    • Out of these, nearly 85% of the students (2.85 crore) were enrolled in the six major disciplines such as Humanities, Science, Commerce, Engineering & Technology, Medical Science and IT & Computer.

    (6) Doctorate pursuance

    • The number of students pursuing PhD in 2019-20 is 2.03 lakh against 1.17 lakh in 2014-15.

    (7) Total number of teachers

    • The Total Number of Teachers stands at 15,03,156 comprising of 57.5% male and 42.5% female.

  • South Asia’s healthcare burden

    The article contrasts the public healthcare system in South Asian countries with that of their Southeast Asian peers and highlights the shortcomings.

    Subpar public healthcare system

    • Super spreader events, a fragile health infrastructure neglected for decades, citizens not following health protocols, and logistical mismanagement were the factors responsible for the destruction in the second Covid-19 wave.
    • What has exacerbated the situation is a subpar public healthcare system running on a meagre contribution of a little over 1% of India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
    • While the private medical sector is booming, the public healthcare sector has been operating at a pitiful 0.08 doctors per 1,000 people, World Health Organization’s (WHO) prescribed standard ois1:1000.
    • India has only half a bed available for every 1,000 people, which is a deficient figure even for normal days.
    • Bangladesh and Pakistan fare no better, with a bed to patient ratio of 0.8 and 0.6, respectively, and a doctor availability of less than one for every 1,000 people.
    • While ideally, out-of-pocket expenditure should not surpass 15% to 20% of the total health expenditure, for India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, this figure stands at an appalling 62.67%, 73.87% and 56.24%, respectively.

    Lack of investment in healthcare

    • Major public sector investments by the ‘big three’ of South Asia, i.e., India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, are towards infrastructure and defence, with health taking a backseat.
    • While India has the world’s third-largest military expenditure, its health budget is the fourth-lowest.
    • Indian government in this year’s budget highlighted an increase of 137% in health and well-being expenditure, a closer look reveals a mismatch between facts and figures.
    • In Pakistan, even amidst the pandemic, the defence budget was increased while the spending on health remained around $151 million.
    • Not too far behind is Bangladesh, with decades of underfunding culminating in a crumbling public healthcare system.
    • Major public sector investments by the ‘big three’ of South Asia, i.e., India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, are towards infrastructure and defence, with health taking a backseat.
    • A quick look at pre-pandemic sectoral allocations explains the chronically low status of human development indicators in the three countries.

    Learning from Southeast Asia

    • Southeast Asia has prioritised investments in healthcare systems while broadening equitable access through universal health coverage schemes.
    • Vietnam’s preventive measures focused on investments in disease surveillance and emergency response mechanisms.
    • Even countries like Laos and Cambodia are making a constant effort towards improving the healthcare ecosystem.
    • All have done much better than their South Asian peers.

    Conclusion

    Learning from the devastation unleashed by the pandemic, South Asian countries must step up investment in their public healthcare sectors to make them sustainable, up to date and pro-poor; most importantly, the system should not turn its back on citizens.

  • [pib] QS World University Rankings 2022

    The Prime Minister has congratulated IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi and  IISc Bengaluru for top-200 positions in QS World University Rankings 2022.

    QS World University Rankings

    • QS World University Rankings is an annual publication of university rankings by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS).
    • It comprises the global overall and subject rankings (which name the world’s top universities for the study of 51 different subjects and five composite faculty areas).
    • It announces ranking for five independent regional tables (Asia, Latin America, Emerging Europe and Central Asia, the Arab Region, and BRICS).

    Highlights of the 2022 Report

    • IIT Bombay ranks joint-177 in the world, having fallen five places over the past year.
    • IIT Delhi has become India’s second-best university, having risen from 193 ranks in last year’s ranking to 185 in the latest ranking. It has overtaken IISc Bangalore, which ranks joint-186.
    • The Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, has been ranked the “world’s top research university.
    • The top three institutions globally are — Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), University of Oxford, and Stanford University ranked at number one, two, and three respectively.