India has around 700 universities in the whole country. However, there are only two institutions which could catch the attention of the world. Indian Institute of Technology and Indian Institute of Science are the only universities found in the list of top 200 universities in the world. If we look at the top places, they are either occupied by the American Universities like Harvard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology or the British Universities of repute like Oxford and Cambridge.
The above facts throw a big question that our universities are lacking the quality of research as found in the foreign university. In terms of our numbers, we are fine but when it comes to quality, we slip to the lower places. This makes it necessary that universities should not be the institutions of distributing degrees and certificates alone. They should be more involved in creating scholars by encouraging the research work. The universities found in the top places have gained that position by virtue of their innovation and research work. They are the breeding ground for the birth of scientists and thinkers. They provide a favourable condition for the students to be as creative as possible. No wonder, many such universities are privileged to produce the scientists who have won noble prize in various disciplines.
The less number of universities in the global list is not just the number but the indicator that our universities need to speed up the research related activities and create innovators. In today’s world, the degree awarded by the universities has value only when it is accompanied with quality research work. Let’s hope that next time when the global list is prepared, the place of our universities will be better than what it is now.