Vijayawada: Pharma stream dominates NIRF rating

Vijayawada: The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) results announced by the Union Ministry of Education (UoME) on Monday stress on some self-introspection over the performance of the state higher education sector in Andhra Pradesh. Other than the Pharmacy stream, not many state-run and private institutions could make it to the NIRF rankings of 2023.

In the top 100 overall university rankings, Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation University (K L College of Engineering), Vaddeswaram, has bagged 50th rank, followed by the state-run Andhra University, Visakhapatnam which got 76th position.

Similarly, in the top 100 Universities rankings too it was the K L College of Engineering Vaddeswaram which bagged 28 rank followed by the state-run Andhra University, Visakhapatnam, standing at 43rd position and Sri Venkateswara University Tirupati, bagging 60th rank. Another private institution, Vignan's Foundation for Science, Technology and Research, Guntur, figured in 75th position.

In the top 100 colleges rankings, not a single college either from the state-run or private could make it to the national rankings in the NIRF-2023. Similarly, in the top 50 research institutions too, the state did not figure anywhere in the NIRF rankings.

In the top 100 engineering institutions, once again K L College of Engineering, Vaddeswaram, took 44th rank, followed by Vignan's Foundation for Science, Technology and Research, Guntur bagging 85th position and the state-run AU College of Engineering Visakhapatnam got 94th position. Of the top 100 in the management stream, it was only the central-run institution of India Indian Institute of Management, Visakhapatnam, that got a 29 ranking.

In the pharmacy stream of the top 100 in the country, the AU College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Visakhapatnam, bagged 22nd rank, followed by Gandhi Institute of Technology and Management, Visakhapatnam, with 48th rank.

Sri Venkateswara College of Pharmacy Chittoor is ranked 57, and Sri Padmavathi Mahila Visvavidyalayam, Tirupathi, stood in 60th position.

The are followed by another state-run university, Acharya Nagarjuna University College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Guntur at 63rd rank. Shri Vishnu College of Pharmacy, Bhimavaram, got 76th rank and Nirmala College of Pharmacy, Mangalagiri, bagged 83rd position, Chalapathi Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Guntur, is ranked at 89th position and Raghavendra Institute of Pharmaceutical Education & Research, Anantapuramu, got a 92th rank.

In the category of top 50 in the medical stream not a single institution from the state figured in the NIRF rankings from Andhra Pradesh. In the top 40 dental institutions, Vishnu Dental College, Bheemavaram, is the only college which bagged 26th rank. Not a single institution, from the state-run or private, could make it to the top 30 ranks category in the law stream. The School of Planning and Architecture, Vijayawada, is the lone institution that got 18th rank among the top 30 in the Architecture and Planning stream of NIRF rankings. Among the top 40 in the Agriculture and Allied Sectors, Acharya NG Ranga Agricultural University, Guntur, stood in 20 positions and Sri Venkateswara Veterinary University Tirupati got 31th rank. In the top 10 institutions in the Innovation rankings, not a single institution from the state could make it to the NIRF ranking.