NIRF 2025 rankings questioned: BHU dental college featured twice in the context of data inconsistencies

For the first time, a top institution has been featured twice in one category, raising questions about accuracy and verification of data in India's prestige ranking system. The NIRF 2025 rankings, which were recently released, have been questioned because of a major inconsistency in Banaras Hindu University's (BHU) Faculty of Dental Sciences.

BHU's Faculty of Dental Sciences appears at 15th and 18th ranks in the dentistry category, due to different submissions by the central administration and the dental faculty separately. The variance is further augmented by contradictory figures on graduate placement and median compensation, posing doubts on the methodology adopted for compiling and verifying submissions.

The anomaly was because both BHU's central administration and its Faculty of Dental Sciences individually provided their data to the NIRF. This led to two distinct rankings for the same institution, which had not happened before in the scheme's history.

The Faculty of Dental Sciences had 20 undergraduate placements in 2021-22, compared to zero placements in the same year from the central BHU submission. Likewise, the faculty's median salary figure was higher than that in the central submission.

This replication and contradictory data can mislead parents and students who are using NIRF rankings for university choice. Reliable data on graduate outcomes and placements are a key component in ranking calculations and carry important implications for institutional reputation. Experts propose stricter verification processes and cross-checking mechanisms to avoid such disparities in subsequent editions.

Though NIRF is the most well-known national ranking system, events such as these demonstrate the need to improve its methodology. Accounting for multiple submissions by the same institution would improve credibility and preserve stakeholder trust, such as that of students, academics, and policymakers.

The BHU dental college case is a lesson in caution for India's ranking of higher education. Though NIRF is a valuable benchmark, priority was needed in transparency, accuracy, and verification to uphold the sanctity of rankings that impact crucial decisions on education and career planning.