CUSAT tops Kerala Institutional Ranking Framework 2025; Rajagiri College and CET lead in respective categories

The Kerala Institutional Ranking Framework (KIRF) 2025 placed Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) at the top of the University category, while Rajagiri College of Social Sciences emerged first among Arts and Science colleges, and College of Engineering Thiruvananthapuram (CET) led the Engineering rankings.

The results of the second KIRF rankings were announced by Higher Education Minister R. Bindu at a press conference in Thrissur on Monday.

In the Universities category, CUSAT secured 87.346 points, followed by Mahatma Gandhi University (82.288) and Calicut University (72.858). All 11 participating universities were found eligible for ranking this year.

Notably, Kerala University, ranked fifth nationally in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) and second under KIRF last year, did not take part in the ranking process this year. In a veiled criticism of the university’s Vice Chancellor in-charge Mohanan Kunnummal, the Minister indicated that the institution’s absence was due to a lack of initiative on his part.

The Arts and Science segment, which saw the highest participation with 275 institutions, ranked the top 100 colleges individually, with the rest placed in rank bands 101-150 and 151-200. Rajagiri College of Social Sciences, Ernakulam, secured first place with 65.152 points, followed by St. Teresa’s College, Ernakulam, and Vimala College, Thrissur.

In Engineering, 93 institutions participated, of which 50 were ranked. CET topped the list with 67.884 points. TKM College of Engineering, Kollam, and Rajagiri School of Engineering and Technology, Ernakulam, secured the second and third ranks respectively.

Management category

In Management, Rajagiri Business School, Ernakulam, secured first rank. Nirmala College of Pharmacy, Muvattupuzha, topped the Pharmacy category, while MIMS College of Nursing, Malappuram, led in Nursing. Farook Training College, Kozhikode, ranked first in Teacher Education. In Agriculture and Allied sectors, the College of Agriculture, Vellayani, Thiruvananthapuram, secured the top position.

A total of 519 institutions participated in KIRF 2025, marking a 15% increase from the previous year. Of these, 51.3% were from the public sector, including 109 government and 157 aided institutions, while 253 were self-financing colleges. Among other State-specific indicators, the Kerala State Higher Education Council introduced the Innovation and Entrepreneurship parameter for the rankings too.

The rankings were finalised by an oversight committee chaired by former Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) Senior Scientist Gangan Prathap.

Special awards from this year

The Minister also announced the institution of special awards from this year. The university securing first rank will receive a Chief Minister’s Award comprising a cash purse of ₹5 lakh, while first-ranked institutions in other categories will receive ₹2 lakh Higher Education Minister’s Awards to strengthen research, quality benchmarks and academic innovation.