Sunday, July 09, 2006

Outlook's ranking of engineering and medical colleges


The rankings are just out: top 100 engineering colleges and top 25 medical colleges. The cover story is here, and the methodology is described here. If you read the methodology, you will find good reasons to not take this entire ranking exercise too seriously. So there.

However, there are other interesting stories that accompany the Cover Story. One of them recounts the sad story of how the famed Karnataka model was undermined and destroyed. There are two articles by engineering graduates (and currently employed in IT industry) from private colleges in Tamil Nadu. While both of them (with a not so high grades and entrance marks) are grateful for the opportunity to study engineering, they are quite candid about the problems in the system of private colleges. From T.R. Muralidharan's article:

... Anna University (to which all engineering colleges are affiliated) is still finding it difficult to ensure that infrastructure and facilities at the colleges conform to standards. The quality of education rendered too is often substandard. There is a shortage of good professors in areas like IT and communications where developments happen rapidly.

Here's S. Senthil Kumar, a Dalit student who is now with Infosys:

Private engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu operate like small-scale businesses with disproportionately high turnover. Their marketability is determined by the numbers getting distinctions, the number of students going abroad for higher studies. Most of these colleges come up with bare minimum facilities, just about meeting AICTE requirements. Once revenues go up, more "facilities" are added. My college had a few good lecturers but many mediocre and not-so-good ones.

12 Comments:

  1. Anonymous said...

    Abi: Check out my post on this survey and let me know of your thoughts.

    I wasted 20 bucks on this...so encourage my saggin' spirit...;)

  2. Anonymous said...

    The Methodology is weird and hilarious. Wait a minute, Where is MIT(Chennai)? But they included colleges with no NAAC or NBA accredition at all! I think outlook is kidding everybody.

  3. Abi said...

    Arunn: Thanks for fisking Outlook's rankings. I have posted a link here.

    Akilan: Yes, it's weird and hilarious. Which is why I didn't want to emphasize the rankings themselves. The accompanying articles are interesting, though.

  4. Abi said...

    Er, the 'here' in the previous comment should actually link to here!

  5. Anonymous said...

    Wow, I am amazed at the talent we have in our media :-)

  6. Anonymous said...

    Unfortunately, how many of those who read "Outlook" will read this blog? I think, we got to find out a better way of reaching out to people, say the readers of Outlook.

    http://sskatte.blogspot.com

  7. Anonymous said...

    what about college of technology pantnagar which is considered the best engineering college in uttaranchal and is an unsaid NIT outlook should keep in mind about universitites like CUSAT Cochin(considered fot upgradadtion to IIT) and GBPUAT Pantnagar
    I believe colleges like NIRMA will take centuries to reach up to that status
    outlook will have to tell about the standings of these colleges
    Have these colleges been considered in the rankings or not

  8. Anonymous said...

    My friend, Srinivas R. from Hyderabad, has graduated from College of Technology (NIT) Pantnagar, Uttaranchal. He is a top-notch executive in one of IT firms in United States.
    Other friend of mine is from Orissa Engineering College. I believe that he is equally good in knowledge and experience to any IIT graduate. He also works in an investment firm in Wall Street.

    Oulook rankings cannot be trusted at all. Most of the employers do not even pay attention to these kind of reports as they seem to contradict the reality.

  9. Unknown said...

    please tell me about the exact ranking of college of technology,pantnagar.it has been giving placements in top companies of india since last four years..why it is not included in the rankings though it has so much of fame.and is it true that it was once proposed to become an NIT.

  10. Anonymous said...

    College of Technology,Pantnagar is better than any NITs in India in terms of infrastructure and quality students,its unfair on part of Outlook magazine & it seems the ranking is somehow biased.The college has so much of fame and its alumini are at various top notch positions not only in India but across Globe

  11. Anonymous said...

    iiit hyderabad is a private coll..not a govt coll,when there is such flaws in the facts....the rankings seems rather misleading

  12. Anonymous said...

    First things first
    Pantnagar is an autonomous university and hence cannot become NIT. It has good students i agree, but there is one thing that it lacks... the university is not for engineering like NITs so the atmosphere is very different.
    The uniiversity can't solely concentrate on engineering section, so to be honest engg section doesn't get the attention it could get. So please.. stop comparing it with NIT.
    Secondly.. altough its institute's environment that shapes a student but we must remember that its the students who make an institute successful. Take Nirma University, they are undisuted champs of ROBOCON although its not any NIT or IIT.