BITS Pilani pulls out of Times Higher Education global rankings

BITS Pilani has decided to withdraw from the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, joining a growing group of Indian institutions that have raised concerns about the ranking body’s methodology and transparency.

In an official statement, the institute said it will stop sharing institutional and subject-level data with Times Higher Education for ranking purposes.

With this decision, BITS Pilani will no longer appear in upcoming editions of the World University Rankings, Asia University Rankings, or subject-wise rankings published by THE.

The statement said, "BITS Pilani is committed to ensuring transparency, methodological robustness, and verifiable benchmarking in higher education evaluation. Accordingly, institution will cease sharing the institutional and subject-level data required for inclusion in THE rankings from this cycle onward.”

“As a result, BITS Pilani will not feature in forthcoming editions of Times Higher Education rankings, including World University Rankings, Asia University Rankings, and the Rankings by Subject,” it added.

Several Indian Institutes of Technology, including IIT Delhi, IIT Bombay, IIT Madras, IIT Kanpur, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Roorkee, and IIT Guwahati, have earlier opted out of THE rankings, citing issues related to transparency in the evaluation process.

BITS Pilani said it remains open to participating in THE rankings in the future if the framework evolves to ensure greater transparency, consistency, and verifiability.

The institute also noted that global rankings can serve as one of several benchmarking tools, provided they are based on credible, explainable, and verifiable evaluation standards.