JNU VC credits teamwork for 2nd rank in NIRF; says university has different set of problems

New Delhi: Jawaharlal Nehru University Vice-Chancellor Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit credited the varsity's second rank in the National Institutional Ranking Framework to teamwork, while noting that single subject institutes do not have the kind of problems faced by the university.

The seventh edition of the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) rankings was announced on Friday by Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. In the 'universities' category, the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bengaluru bagged the top spot followed by Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and Jamia Millia Islamia at second and third ranks, respectively.

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"We are very happy. IISc is not a university like JNU. It is a research institute, and putting JNU and IISc together is like clubbing apples and oranges. I thank all my faculty, students and non-teaching staff. It is a collective effort," Pandit told PTI.

Asserting that the university will do better in future, the vice-chancellor said JNU is moving towards different areas of innovation while keeping in touch with its inclusivity. The university is going to start School of Indian Languages, she said, adding that they are also looking to strengthen the Science programmes so that they become as good as the IISc.

"They do not have the problems that we have. But I like JNU because of its brilliance and diversity. We have a Booker Prize winner from here and a child beggar going to the US on a scholarship. I think no other institute has this kind of diversity. I think single subject institutions should not be put together with universities (in such rankings) since we have several courses and are also quite politically active," she said.

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"They get 9.5 pointer students and make them 9.6 pointer ones. Their fees is Rs 10 lakh. We get 3 to 5 pointer students and make them eight to nine pointer ones in Rs 10 to Rs 20 fees. There is no comparison," Pandit asserted.

She added that the decision to resume offline classes at the varsity with full attendance has been left to the discretion of chairperson and deans of schools, since they "know the strength of the classrooms". There have been protests demanding complete resumption of offline teaching at the university.