Introduction

Students are exploring a wide range of career alternatives due to the recent boost in economy and consequent rise in demand in the job market. Though engineering, medicine, administration, fashion design, and biotechnology are top in the list of popular degrees and vocations pursued by students, Law as a professional choice is growing consistently amongst students who graduate from high school every year in India.

Due to the proliferation of higher education institutes throughout the country, students find themselves being none the wiser in the initial pursuit to make the right choice to pursue a degree in law. To aid law aspirants and their guardians in college selection, credible ranking frameworks come out every year with extensive college rankings in different disciplines. These rankings are based on multiple criteria that give a thoroughgoing outlook of educational institutes and their standing in their respective fields.

The rankings of the National Institute of Ranking Framework (NIRF) are considered very prestigious. Students also turn to other popular annual rankings such as the India Today Rankings, Indian Institutional Ranking Framework (IIRF) rankings and Outlook ICARE rankings.

College Ranking in India and Their Impotence

There are several public and private higher education institutions in India, the importance of the latter growing along with the eminence of Indian universities crossing the threshold to the international educational community. The West created the ranking system to promote healthy competition among institutions. In the global evaluation of Indian institutions, parameters relevant to the country’s socio-political setting should be ignored due to a lack of first-hand research.

India launched its own ranking system in 2015, following suit with China’s Shanghai Rankings and establishing India's National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), which ranks the country’s higher education institutions across all disciplines. The Times Higher Education (THE) and Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), a Britain-based higher education analysis company, rank colleges and universities on the global front.

Both the QS and Times Higher Education World University Rankings kept data confidential and relied on mostly arbitrary standards to determine rankings. Due to the region’s relative lack of global influence, Asian institutions have frequently done poorly in reputation polls. Hence, a national ranking system can compare the best Indian universities with the best international colleges. Through relationships with international rating organisations, private sector institutions have voiced their appreciation for such ratings.

National Institute Ranking Framework (NIRF)

The NIRF is the nation’s first comprehensive ranking of academic institutions. It got sanctioned by the Ministry of Human Resource Development on September 29, 2015. The method for ranking institutions nationally is laid out in this framework. The parameters taken into account for determining the annual rankings are:

• Teaching, Learning, Resources (TLR);
• Research, Professional Practices (RPC);
• Graduation Outcomes (GO);
• Outreach and Inclusivity (OI);
• Perception

These parameters are all rated out of 100. Following are the top 5 Law College Rankings in India as per the

NIRF ranking, 2022:

1. National Law School of India University, Bengaluru, Karnataka:

TRL(100)	RPC(100)	GO (100)	OI (100)	PERCEPTION (100)
80.06	57.01	81.16	73.38	97.88

Source: https://bit.ly/3BEurDH

2. National Law University, New Delhi

TRL(100)	RPC(100)	GO (100)	OI (100)	PERCEPTION (100)
88.53	32.79	74.78	72.77	76.58

Source: https://bit.ly/3BEurDH

3. Symbiosis Law School, Pune, Maharashtra

TRL(100)	RPC(100)	GO (100)	OI (100)	PERCEPTION (100)
82.27	17.27	82.94	75.04	100.00

Source: https://bit.ly/3BEurDH

4. NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad, Telangana

TRL(100)	RPC(100)	GO (100)	OI (100)	PERCEPTION (100)
86.24	37.66	74.40	72.95	70.05

Source:https://bit.ly/3BEurDH

5. The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata, West Bengal

TRL(100)	RPC(100)	GO (100)	OI (100)	PERCEPTION (100)
79.04	27.87	84.87	74.69	62.30

Source: https://bit.ly/3BEurDH

India Today Ranking

India Today, one of the leading news channels in India, ranks the best educational institutions in India annually. Participating academic institutions are required to complete a survey and provide supporting documents. Due to its long-standing credibility, it is one of the most preferred rankings when it comes to selecting the best private colleges in India for law and other courses.

Following are some of the parameters on which the India Today Rankings are based:

• Accreditation
• Student Diversity
• Faculty and Funding
• Selection Procedure
• Infrastructure
• Environmentally Friendly Initiatives
• Academic Advancement
• Internships and Placements

Following are the top 5 Law Colleges in India as per the India Today, 2022 ranking:

• National Law School of India University, Bengaluru, Karnataka
• The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata, West Bengal
• National Law Institute University Bhopal, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh
• Gujarat National Law University (GNLU), Gandhinagar, Gujrat
• Symbiosis Law School, Pune, Maharashtra

Outlook ICARE Rankings

The Indian Centre for Academic Rankings & Excellence (ICARE) is India’s most reliable academic ratings authority. The governments of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Maharashtra have sanctioned as a 'University Ratings' in India. Students can benefit from Outlook’s yearly ranking of India's top colleges (in association with ICARE).

Following are the parameters on which the Outlook ICARE rankings are based:

• Academic and Research Excellence
• Industry Interface and Placement
• Infrastructure and Facilities
• Governance and Admissions
• Diversity and Outreach

These parameters are all rated out of 300 for Academic and Research Excellence, 200 for Industry Interface and Placement, Infrastructure and Facilities, and 150 for Governance and Admissions as well as Diversity and Outreach.

Following are the top 5 Private Law College Rankings in India as per the Outlook ICARE rankings, 2022:

• Jindal Global Law School, Sonipat, Haryana
• Symbiosis Law School, Pune, Maharashtra
• Amity Law School, Noida, Uttar Pradesh
• Lloyd Law College, Greater, Noida
• New Law College, Bharati Vidyapeeth, Pune

Lloyd Law College has an impressive tally of 200.06 out of 300 for Academic and Research Excellence. The constant efforts of the Commonwealth Institute for Justice Educational and Research (CIJER) have proven fruitful for the research endeavors of the institution. The college has constantly been facilitating internships and placements in eminent legal firms across the country. In the list of best private colleges in India, Lloyd had been steadily and constantly carving a niche for itself year after year.

Indian Institutional Ranking Framework (IIRF) Rankings

Since 2012, the IIRF has been presented and published monthly by the Education Post, a publication committed to higher education. The Federation of World Academics (FWA) serves as both a mentor and also provides organizational support for the IIRF Centre for Institutional Research (ICIR) in India. The Indian professional sector universally agrees that the IIRF ranking is the most comprehensive and credible quality indicator for colleges and higher education institutions in the country.

Following the parameters which the IIRF rankings take into consideration:

• Employability
• Teaching and Learning Resources
• Faculty
• Infrastructure
• Projects and Case Study
• Innovation

Following are the top 5 Law Colleges in India as per IIRF, 2022 rankings:

• National Law School of India University, Bengaluru, Karnataka
• National Law University, New Delhi
• NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad, Telangana
• Ambedkar Govt. Law College, Chennai, Tamil Nadu
• The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata, West Bengal

Conclusion

Ranking frameworks in India work extensively to provide the most credible sources and reliable status of legal education in India. They are beneficial in discerning which institute should be selected for a promising professional career in law. All the law college rankings in India consider faculty quality, research and innovation developments, placement and return on investment index of the government and private institutions. These rankings can be of great worth in helping students make an informed choice and providing a notable spot to Indian colleges and universities in the global educational setting.

References