AP institutions lag in NIRF rankings amid infrastructure deficiencies

Visakhapatnam: Andhra Pradesh’s higher education sector has been chronically underfunded and neglected, reducing the state universities to little more than degree-granting institutions. Plagued by infrastructural deficiencies, financial constraints, faculty shortages, and little research activity, the state’s institutions struggle to compete on a national level.
This is starkly evident in the absence of any Andhra Pradesh-based institution in the NIRF 2024 top 10 rankings.No institute has found a place in the medical colleges, research institutes, or innovation centre categories.

Although Andhra Pradesh’s institutions have made a stronger showing in the 2024 NIRF rankings compared to previous years, they still fall short of satisfactory standards. Andhra University in Visakhapatnam being ranked as the seventh best public university (41st overall) and IIM Visakhapatnam outperforming some second-generation IIMs in the management category are the only positive factors in these rankings.
The state’s research output further highlights the ongoing crisis in its public institutions. With a mere 2.47% (or 20,600 research papers) contribution to India’s research publications over the past two decades, Andhra Pradesh ranks a dismal 17th among states and union territories. This poor performance is a clear indicator of the state’s deteriorating research and university ecosystem.
For example, Tamil Nadu, which has 18 of its institutions in the top 100 of the NIRF rankings—the highest for any state—also leads in research output, with over 1.47 lakh research publications between 2001 and 2020. This is almost seven times higher than Andhra Pradesh’s research output. Similarly, Maharashtra, with 12 institutions in the top 100, the second highest for any state, produced 1.37 lakh research publications. Even in terms of research output over the last two decades, Maharashtra ranks second after Tamil Nadu. Delhi, with three institutions in the top 10, produced 1.19 lakh publications. While research output does not always correlate with the quality of education or faculty efficiency, it provides insight into the robustness of a state’s academic and research environment.
The absence of faculty recruitment for over 15 years has led to a severe staff shortage in Andhra Pradesh’s state universities, which has significantly impacted both academics and research.
Some experts also emphasise the need to enhance the research ecosystem and infrastructure at these institutions, considering the ever-evolving research landscape, sciences, and emerging technologies.
The block grants provided to state universities by the govt each year are barely sufficient to cover salaries and pension bills. Due to declining rankings, these universities have also been unable to secure funding from external sources such as RUSA, UGC, and DST.
Speaking to TOI, former vice-chancellor of Andhra University, Prof G. Nageswara Rao, stated that the NIRF ranking is determined by various parameters, including perception (employers’ and research investors’ perception, public perception, academic peer perception, etc.) towards an institution.
"Improvements in faculty, research activity, and other parameters will definitely lead to much better rankings for AP institutions in the future," said Prof Rao.
Former vice-chancellor of Dr BR Ambedkar University, Prof Lajipathi Rai, said that major institutions like IITs and IIMs recruit faculty on a rolling basis as and when vacancies arise.
“The level of research and infrastructural rigour demonstrated by these institutions is unmatched by state universities. The inflow of funding and alumni donations (for instance, IIT Madras receives an annual Rs 500 crore in alumni donations), along with competent faculty and collaborations with industry and renowned global institutions, makes these institutions well-rounded in terms of infrastructure, research work, academics, advanced laboratories, and year-long events. Take our state universities, which have over 70% faculty vacancies. To prepare our local institutions for the future, these factors need to be improved, starting with a few key institutions like Andhra University in the first phase. This model can then be replicated at other universities and institutions in the future,” said Prof Rai.