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BITS-Pilani withdraws from Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings

“BITS Pilani remains open to re-engaging with THE in the future should the framework evolve further toward greater transparency, consistency, and verifiability,” it said.

2 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Jan 30, 2026 05:00 PM IST

BITS Pilani will cease sharing the institutional and subject-level data required for inclusion in THE rankings from this cycle onward (Image: BITS Pilani)

The Birla Institute of Technology and Science Pilani (BITS Pilani) has announced its withdrawal from the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings, citing concerns over transparency, methodological rigour, and the need for verifiable benchmarking in higher education evaluation. The institute, in a statement, said it remains open to re-engaging with THE in the future should the ranking framework evolve towards greater transparency, consistency, and verifiability.

India’s older Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) — IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Kanpur, Kharagpur, IIT Madras, IIT Guwahati, and IIT Roorkee, have opted out of the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings since 2020. The institutes have raised concerns over the rankings’ lack of transparency, disputed indicators – particularly those linked to research citations – and the use of opaque, “black box” reputation scores.

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BITS Pilani aligns with the broader principle that measurement systems must meet the standards expected of academic governance, the statement added.

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BITS Pilani will cease sharing the institutional and subject-level data required for inclusion in THE rankings from this cycle onward. Consequently, BITS Pilani will not be featuring in the upcoming editions of the Times Higher Education rankings, including the World University Rankings, the Asia University Rankings, and the Rankings by Subject.

BITS Pilani believes global rankings can be useful as one of many benchmarking tools, the statement added, saying that at the same time, the Institute believes that evaluation frameworks must be credible, explainable, and independently verifiable, given their expanding influence on student choice, academic partnerships, funding priorities, and public trust.

Saying that BITS Pilani aims to contribute constructively to the national and global dialogue on responsible benchmarking in higher education, the institute said it remains committed to global engagement through international collaborations, high-impact research, faculty and student mobility, and innovation-driven societal contributions.