Petitioner alleges data manipulation; court seeks government response by April 24
The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Thursday issued an interim stay, restraining the Ministry of Education and the National Board of Accreditation (NBA) from publishing the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) rankings for 2025.
A Division Bench of Justices J Nisha Banu and S Srimathy passed the order on a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by C Chellamuthu of Dindigul. The petitioner alleged that NIRF rankings lacked transparency, as institutions self-report data without verification, leading to potential manipulation.
Allegations of Data Misrepresentation
Chellamuthu argued that many institutions inflate their NIRF ranking scores by submitting exaggerated data on PhD enrollments, faculty strength, research funding, and consultancy projects. He presented comparative data from the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) Annual Quality Assurance Reports (AQAR), which undergo expert verification, highlighting discrepancies between AQAR and NIRF submissions.
“The NIRF rankings are based on unverified data, allowing institutions with poor academic quality and infrastructure to secure top positions while many reputed state universities are sidelined,” the petition stated.
The petitioner urged the court to direct the NBA to ensure thorough verification of institutional submissions and disclose the complete scoring methodology before publishing rankings.
Concerns Amid NIRF 2024 Results
The stay order comes in the backdrop of the NIRF 2024 rankings, where IIT Madras, IISc Bangalore, and IIT Delhi secured the top positions overall. However, the rankings have faced criticism, particularly regarding the over-representation of private institutions and the underperformance of several reputed state universities. The issue of self-reported data without independent audits has been a long-standing concern among educationists.
Court Seeks Government Response
After reviewing the submitted data, the court granted an interim stay and directed the government to submit a counter affidavit. The matter is scheduled for the next hearing on April 24.
The stay order puts a temporary halt on the NIRF 2025 rankings, potentially impacting students' decision-making for admissions. The case could lead to significant changes in how institutional rankings are calculated and published in the future.
