Research during pandemic helped Jamia improve NIRF rank: VC Najma Akhtar

NEW DELHI: Jamia Millia Islamia Vice-Chancellor Najma Akhtar on Friday said the university's faculty members did a lot of research work during the COVID-19 pandemic which helped it improve its position in the National Institutional Ranking Framework. In the seventh edition of NIRF rankings announced earlier in the day by Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, JMI significantly improved its position from the 6th spot last year to the 3rd this year.

"The university has been making consistent efforts to improve the quality of teaching, learning and research. In NIRF rankings, we have progressed from 83rd rank in 2016 to 6th rank in 2021 and now figure among the three top universities of the nation. "This remarkable achievement was possible because of the relevant and focused research of highest quality and teaching by the dedicated and devoted faculty members of the university," Akhtar said. She said the university lost many of its faculty members to COVID-19 and this pushed the others to work harder.

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"COVID-19 wreaked havoc but there was also a positive thing that came out of it. Our faculty members were awakened and they did a lot of research work, which is reflecting in the rankings," she added. Akhtar said the improved perception of the university in terms of teaching, placements and research, etc. was also a contributing factor.

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JMI has become one of the sought-after universities and the increased number of applications for admissions is a testimony to it, she said. "We hope to do better in the coming years," she said. JMI has also improved its rank significantly in the 'research' category, moving up to the 19th spot from the 30th in 2021. It also improved its position in Architecture, Engineering, Dental and Management categories and maintained its position in the Law category, the university said in a statement.