Fluctuations,lack of transparency,reliance on self reported data among inconsistencies in NIRF:Study

New Delhi, Lack of mechanisms to directly assess teaching quality, huge fluctuations in rankings, inadequate transparency in methodology and reliance on self-reported data, are among the inconsistencies in the education ministry's ranking framework for higher education institutions, according to a research paper. Fluctuations,lack of transparency,reliance on self reported data among inconsistencies in NIRF:Study Authored by former IIT-Delhi director and current vice chancellor of Birla Institute of Technology and Science V Ramgopal Rao, the paper has been published in the 'Current Science' journal. "While the NIRF rankings aim to enhance transparency and accountability, the present study has identified several inconsistencies, thus raising concerns about their reliability," said the paper titled 'Unpacking inconsistencies in the NIRF rankings'. "Unlike some international ranking systems, such as the QS World University Rankings, which utilise a damping mechanism to spread large, interannual swings in data, the NIRF rankings lack a similar mechanism," it said.