| KOLKATA: Governor MK Narayanan rued that no university in Bengal features among the top 300 in global rankings. As chancellor of all state universities, Narayanan said this was a matter of concern. He was addressing the sesquicentennial celebrations of St Paul's Cathedral Mission College on Saturday.
Calcutta University (CU) vice-chancellor Suranjan Das informed the gathering that CU had bagged the 52nd rank among BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) nations in the QS World University rankings. "It is with great honour that I say that CU has bagged the 52nd rank among BRICS group of countries in the QS world university rankings which is held in high regard in the academic world. This is even better than Delhi University which bagged the 53rd position," Das told the gathering.
A senior CU official added, "A major deterrent for Indian universities competing for global rankings is that many parameters are not set keeping in mind Indian conditions, resulting in bad rankings."
In his address, the Governor spoke about the need for accessibility, equity and quality in higher education which is being provided by the central government. He said, "As the inheritor of a 5,000 year old civilization, it has percolated to our consciousness that education can't be only book learning but character building too." He pointed out that at the threshold of the 21st century, there lies unlimited opportunities along with many challenges.
Education minister Bartya Basu said, "I am happy to know that its the result of relentless effort of Das and other officials at CU who have worked in tandem with our government which has brought them this ranking. The higher education department had worked hand in hand with CU and other universities which helped them receive international appreciation. It has been our aim under the leadership of chief minister Mamata Banerjee to set higher standards and reach the goal. This will only encourage other state universities to perform even better." |