Indian universities fail to feature in world`s top 200

London: US-based Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University on Tuesday topped an authoritative list of the world`s top 200 university rankings that did not figure any educational institutions from India. Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, the country`s premier institution, comes in way down at No 222, dropping from 212 last year, in the `QS World University Rankings` released here today. The list is predictably dominated with US universities, with MIT grabbing the top slot and Harvard at No 2, pushing Britain`s Cambridge University to No 3. As part of one of its most comprehensive global reviews, the 800-strong annual ranking includes 11 Indian institutions in all with the IITs leading the charge - IIT Bombay at 233, IIT Kanpur at 295, IIT Madras at 313 and IIT Kharagpur at 346.

"The stable performance of Indian institutions is a reflection on the country`s efforts to internationalise its higher education system. However, it`s clear that more efforts are needed in the area if the country`s institutions wish to feature more prominently at the top of global rankings," said Ben Sowter, head of research at QS, a British firm specialising in education and study abroad. "In a country where education is prized above all matters and competition for a coveted place at one of the country`s top institutions is high, students need a broader comparison of domestic universities. QS is currently working closely with Indian institutions in a pilot ranking project for the `BRICS` nations, which is due to be launched later this year," Sowter added. The annual rankings take into account the subject range, research results and academic reputation offered by 3,000 institutions internationally. In the list of the top 50 universties in Asia, IIT Delhi and IIT Bombay come in at 38 and 39 followed by IIT Kanpur at 51 and IIT Roorkee at 66. The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology tops the Asian rankings followed by a number of Chinese, Japanese and Korean institutions. PTI