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Author | Lin Wenzhi
Editor of this issue | Jiang Xinyu
Reviewer of this issue | Jiang Yi
The "Elite Island" and "Middle Trap" under the Expansion Wave. Source: WeChat Official Account "India Tong"
When India's higher education has a gross enrollment rate (GER) of 28.4% and an increase of 286% in the number of ranked institutions (the highest among G20 countries), it is setting new development records, but a set of contradictory data still highlights deep challenges - 54 universities selected by QS Global Ranking have an average rank of 452, and the gap between top universities and ordinary colleges is evolving into the "north-south polarization" of the educational ecosystem.
In this country with 58,000 higher education institutions and 120 million young people (the largest youth population in the world), the 2025 Best Colleges Survey jointly released by the Indian magazine "India Today" and the market research institution MDRA, through a multidimensional evaluation of 112 performance indicators, is exploring ways to break the deadlock of the "scale versus quality" debate.
From the cutting-edge laboratories of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) to the basic classrooms of rural colleges, the expansion of higher education has covered the entire country.
The improvement of gender equality index and the growth of enrollment rates for disadvantaged groups attest to the progress of educational democratization; 163 universities have entered the QS Asia Ranking, and four have entered the top 100, which also allows India to emerge on the international academic stage.
But the dilemma of "isolation of elite education" remains unresolved: the QS global ranking of the top five universities has jumped from 224th to 173rd, while the average educational quality of all universities in the country is still deeply trapped in the "middle trap". This "headline shine, tail dim" pattern makes it urgent for India to find a way for 58 million university students to share high-quality resources.
Source: WeChat Official Account "India Tong"
It is worth noting that colleges in secondary cities are rewriting the situation at an astonishing pace. This year's survey introduced a new category called "Colleges with the Fastest Progress", selecting institutions that have made the fastest rankings in 14 fields including liberal arts, engineering, medicine, and fashion design over the past five years.
A engineering college in Madhya Pradesh has climbed 200 ranks through curriculum reform, which is a typical example of "non-elite colleges'逆袭". "We not only commend the excellence of Ivy League, but also light up the 'potential stocks' who are quietly innovating," said Abhishek Agrawal, the head of the survey. The number of participating institutions increased from 900 in 2018 to 1865, nearly doubling, which proves the activation effect of the assessment on the educational ecosystem.
Source: WeChat Official Account "India Tong"
One, the Multi-dimensional Evaluation System: Shifting from "Historical Altitude" to "Progress Slope"
When 112 evaluation criteria are categorized into five dimensions: "student quality", "career development", "academic strength", "infrastructure", and "leadership training", and when the perception scores of 1854 educators and recruiters are integrated into the algorithm with a 60:40 weight, this survey covering 27 cities has gone beyond the list itself.
Source: WeChat Official Account "India Tong"
Under the anxiety of nationwide employment rates below 50%, sub-labels such as "lowest tuition fees" and "highest salaries" on the ranking table have become compasses for students from poor backgrounds to choose their schools; the introduction of the "subject ranking" has also brought the detailed strengths of disciplines such as economics and Sanskrit to light.
As revealed by the rise of a third-tier city business school: When educational evaluation begins to focus on "progress slope" rather than "historical altitude", Indian higher education has truly embarked on the path from "scale expansion" to "quality inclusiveness".
Source: WeChat Official Account "India Tong"
Two, Dual Champions in Liberal Arts and Sciences - Delhi University's St. Stephen's College
In the 2025 ranking of the best colleges in India, the St. Stephen's College under Delhi University performed particularly outstanding, winning first place in both the liberal arts and science college lists, setting a benchmark for the industry.
Source: WeChat Official Account "India Tong"
In the liberal arts education of St. Stephen's College, a learning system centered on critical thinking is established: Regularly held high-level seminars attract scholars, policymakers, and industry leaders; well-stocked libraries combined with cutting-edge electronic learning centers create an immersive academic atmosphere.
Courses are boldly integrated with interdisciplinary concepts: In addition to traditional liberal arts courses, there are special electives and additional certificate courses such as "Practical Public Policy" and "Introduction to Media Communication"; "The Science of Happiness" combines psychology and happiness studies, and short-term courses on programming and data visualization help liberal arts students make up for technological shortcomings.
Interdisciplinary platforms such as language laboratories and social research laboratories further promote academic innovation - for instance, the history department introduces digital archives and GIS technology, while the public policy laboratory focuses on cultivating governance capabilities, and plans to create a centralized interpretation museum, combining research results with digital media and museum studies deeply.
With 125 years of academic heritage, St. Stephen's College can also combine traditional educational concepts with cutting-edge technology in the promotion of science education. On campus, the iconic historical lecture hall and the newly completed "Sanganeria" science building complement each other, the latter equipped with advanced laboratories in physics, chemistry, botany, and zoology.
Teachers guide students to participate in scientific research early, promoting the transformation of achievements in areas such as artificial intelligence, climate technology, and green hydrogen energy. The curriculum system balances basics and innovation: core majors offer honors bachelor's degree programs, while offering interdisciplinary electives such as "Spices and Fragrances", "Green Chemistry", and "Bioinformatics", enhancing programming and data analysis skills; courses like "Fundamentals of Climate Change" and "Ecosystem Services" demonstrate a commitment to addressing global challenges.
Technology empowerment of the teaching environment further enhances practical abilities - classrooms and laboratories are equipped with advanced audio-visual equipment and full coverage wireless networks, courses integrate professional software and bioinformatics platforms, and virtual laboratories are used to strengthen operational literacy.
Data from 2024 shows that the employment rate of the college's science major is second among similar institutions, with excellent graduates earning 365,000 rupees annually, and an average salary of about 104,000 rupees, proving its educational quality and industry recognition.
Three, Other College Performance
Next, let us learn about the performance of other liberal arts and science colleges in this survey ranking.
Top 10 Liberal Arts Colleges in India in 2025. Source: WeChat Official Account "India Tong"
Top 10 Science Colleges in India in 2025. Source: WeChat Official Account "India Tong"
Top 10 Liberal Arts Colleges with the Lowest Tuition Fees in India in 2025. Source: WeChat Official Account "India Tong"
Top 10 Science Colleges with the Lowest Tuition Fees in India in 2025. Source: WeChat Official Account "India Tong"
Top 10 Emerging Liberal Arts Colleges in India in 2025. Source: WeChat Official Account "India Tong"
Top 10 Emerging Science Colleges in India in 2025. Source: WeChat Official Account "India Tong"
Top 10 Liberal Arts Colleges with the Fastest Progress in India in 2025. Source: WeChat Official Account "India Tong"
Source: WeChat Official Account "India Tong"
Top 10 Undergraduate Colleges in India for English Literature in 2025. Source: WeChat Official Account "India Tong"
Top 10 Undergraduate Colleges in India for Economics in 2025. Source: WeChat Official Account "India Tong"
Top 10 Undergraduate Colleges in India for History in 2025. Source: WeChat Official Account "India Tong"
Top 10 Undergraduate Colleges in India for Political Science in 2025. Source: WeChat Official Account "India Tong"
Top 10 Undergraduate Colleges in India for Hindi Literature in 2025. Source: WeChat Official Account "India Tong"
Top 10 Undergraduate Colleges in India for Psychology in 2025. Source: WeChat Official Account "India Tong"
Top 10 Undergraduate Colleges in India for Sociology in 2025. Source: WeChat Official Account "India Tong"
Top 10 Undergraduate Colleges in India for Philosophy in 2025. Source: WeChat Official Account "India Tong"
Top 10 Undergraduate Colleges in India for Physics in 2025. Source: WeChat Official Account "India Tong"
Top 10 Undergraduate Colleges in India for Zoology in 2025. Source: WeChat Official Account "India Tong"
Top 10 Undergraduate Colleges in India for Chemistry in 2025. Source: WeChat Official Account "India Tong"
Top 10 Undergraduate Colleges in India for Botany in 2025. Source: WeChat Official Account "India Tong"
Source: WeChat Official Account "India Tong"
Indian higher education is standing at the crossroads of scale and quality: when the international rankings of top institutions form a sharp contrast with the national average level of education, and when the rise of secondary cities coincides with the innovation of multi-dimensional evaluation systems, the educational practices represented by St. Stephen's College of Delhi University are providing samples to solve the contradiction between "scale expansion and quality gap".
The transition from "elite islands" to "quality inclusiveness" may not only require policy-driven approaches, but also a deep transformation in the logic of educational evaluation from "historical altitude" to "progress slope".
This article is reprinted from the WeChat official account "India Tong" on June 28, 2025, titled "Another Year of Gaokao Season, Let's Take a Look at the 2025 College Rankings in India?".
Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7557032322621620751/
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