Are Indian Universities Really Good at English?

Indian universities have never done well in any of the international university rankings. The problem is that although there are many talented Indian students and researchers they seem, like Indian entrepreneurs, to leave India as soon as they can.

But some observers have been taking comfort from a good showing in QS's subject rankings for English Language and Literature, which actually consists largely of the 2011 academic survey. One observer notes:

But DU's English department has made the day special as it figured in the top 100 list. Consequently, the celebratory mood was not restricted to North Campus alone but spilled over to South and off-campus colleges. Smiles could be observed on the faces of teachers as well as their pupils as their hard work paid off. "It is always pleasing to know you have done well at international level," said Ratnakar Kumar from Khalsa College. Another student from Hansraj added jokingly, "So we haven't been reading just stories because they don't fetch you such accolades." Verily, students were high on emotions.

A number of reasons can be attributed for the success that Department of English at Delhi University has witnessed. The significant factor is that students are encouraged and pushed to think outside the box, making bizarre to impressive attempts in their process of learning. So in a country in which rote-learning is the norm, DUDE has adopted a strategy to keep such evil at bay. Beside, the world-class faculty has also contributed to the improving standards of English Department.

The Times of India comments:

Teachers cite a number of reasons for the success of DU's English department. "First, it's the profile of the department in terms of research and publications. We are on top in subaltern studies, in post-colonial studies. Then, the numbers — we have 600 MA students, of whom 10-15 are as good as anybody," says a professor. He adds that India is not considered modern for technology but for the ideas of democracy and freedom, and those belong to the domain of humanities. The department is a part of the University Grants Commission's Special Assistance Programme.

The QS subject rankings for English are 90 per cent based on the academic survey so research and publications had nothing to do with it. My suspicion is that graduates of Delhi University have fanned out across the world for postgraduate studies and have signed up for the QS survey giving an American, British or whatever university as their affiliation. When they fill out the form, they probably put the Ivy League and Oxbridge down first and then Delhi university after about 20 or 30 other names. The QS methodology does not take account of the order of the responses so Harvard would get the same weighting as Delhi or much less if the respondent gave an American affiliation making Harvard a domestic vote and Delhi an international one.