New Delhi: In a first such instance, the India Rankings 2025 released by the Union education ministry a fortnight ago were vetted by a private consultancy firm.

The task for vetting the rankings was entrusted to global consulting firm EY, which at present is associated with various government projects, reported New Indian Express.

The newspaper cited sources to report that the decision to rope in EY for double verification of data was taken after an inexplicable surge in rankings was witnessed for some institutions and the shocking slump registered by a few others.

“It was heartening to note that the firm (EY) endorsed the rankings made by us and did not find even a single error,” an official with the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) team told New Indian Express.

Earlier, the rankings were delayed by six weeks this year owing to the additional verification process.

“Post-Covid, we were releasing the rankings by July and August. It was done in June since 2015 when we commenced the ranking process. Our original plan was to release by mid-July this year. But due to the third-party verification, we were able to release them only by the first week of September,” said an official.

NIRF is a part of the National Board of Accreditation, which is an autonomous body set up in 1994 to evaluate the qualitative competence of the professional courses offered in India.

The parameters assessed for the rankings include teaching, learning & resources; research and professional practice; graduation outcome; outreach and inclusivity, and perception.

The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.