The Ministry of Education has strongly refuted Congress leader Digvijaya Singh’s allegation that Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has slipped from 2nd to 9th position in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) 2025, describing the claim as “misleading” and based on an incorrect comparison of two distinct ranking categories.
In a detailed statement issued on X on Thursday, the ministry clarified that JNU has consistently secured the 2nd rank in the University Category for five consecutive years (2021 to 2025), with no decline in its core academic standing. The university’s position in this category remains unchanged under the latest NIRF 2025 rankings, where it stands second only to the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru.
This is with reference to certain reports carrying allegations regarding the NIRF rankings of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), which are misleading and reflect a clear misinterpretation of facts, particularly the claim that the university has “fallen from rank 2 to 9.”
— Ministry of Education (@EduMinOfIndia) April 2, 2026
This…
The ministry explained that Singh appears to have compared JNU’s rank in the University Category with its position in the separate Overall Category. In the Overall Category, which includes all types of higher education institutions, JNU has actually improved its standing from 10th in 2024 to 9th in 2025.
“Presenting this as a decline not only distorts the data but also creates a misleading narrative that undermines the credibility of a premier national institution,” the ministry stated. It emphasised that accurate and contextual interpretation of rankings is essential for informed public discourse.
Digvijaya Singh had made the claim in a post on X earlier on Thursday, questioning the university’s management and leadership. He wrote: “JNU was ranked 2nd in 2024 but it has come down to 9th ranking in 2025!! Why? Is it because of poor Management or Lack of Leadership on the part of VC and Management Body?” The remark came in the context of his recent intervention in the Rajya Sabha on issues related to social justice and faculty recruitment at JNU.
JNU is one of the National Premier University. @narendramodi @BJP4India Govt has set up a NIRF National Institutional Framework to assess the Quality Standards of our Universities.
— Digvijaya Singh (@digvijaya_28) April 2, 2026
JNU was ranked 2nd in 2024 but it has come down to 9th ranking in 2025!!
Why?
Is it because of… https://t.co/TSJOq7QVTF
Official NIRF 2025 data confirms the ministry’s position. In the University Ranking category, JNU scored 71.00 and retained its No. 2 spot, behind the Indian Institute of Science with 85.05.
In the Overall Ranking, JNU achieved a score of 69.62 and moved up one place to 9th. IIT Madras has topped the overall ranking, followed by the Indian Institute of Science and then 5 IITs and AIIMS Delhi, while JNU and BHU occupy 9th and 10th ranks.
Therefore, Digivijaya Singh compared JNU’s university ranking in 2024 with the overall ranking in 2025, and came to the wrong conclusion that its rank fell from 2nd to 9th.
