Navaratna Varsities: Research, academic excellence to be counted

Updated on: Tuesday, October 05, 2010

Excellence in research, academic performance, sound infrastructure and ability to attract foreign students will be some of the key criteria for selection of universities from among the existing ones which will be recognised as 'navaratnas'.

These universities will be selected from among the 504 universities from across the country, the plan for which was announced last week.

Modelled after the prestigious Ivy League of USA, they will have financial as well as academic autonomy and their status would be reviewed periodically to adhere to highest standard of excellence, said sources in the HRD Ministry.

The Ivy league refers to about eight institutions in USA which are widely associated with academic excellence, selectivity in admissions and social elitism.

The institutes are Brown University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Harvard University, Princeton University, the University of Pennsylvania and Yale University.

At the meeting of the vice chancellors of central universities last week, HRD Minister Kapil Sibal had said that the 'navaratnas' will "establish benchmarks for others universities to compete".

International ranking would also be an important criterion to select such varsities, said the sources, as a handful of institutes in the country find themselves in the ranking lists.

The selection process is set to get underway in the next two months with a committee set up for the purpose submitting a report by then. Sources said the move to categorise the universities as navaratnas would trigger a competition among the universities given the benefits and the recognition they stand to gain.

It would also fulfil one of the prime objectives of the HRD Ministry in ensuring academic excellence and enhancing the quality of research work in the varsities, they said.

Navaratna Varsities: Research, academic excellence to be counted

More Education news