Chennai: In the first ever instance of rankings given to colleges under the National Institutional Ranking Framework by the ministry of human resource development, 37 colleges from across the state featured among the top 100 institutes.

Of the 37 institutions, Loyola College from Chennai ranked second. Other institutes like Ethiraj College for Women, Madras Christian College and Women’s Christian College, from the city featured among the top 20.

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Loyola College got 100 out of 100 in Research and Professional Practice criterion, which was one of the parameters by which the rankings were decided.

“We are very happy for the ranking. Our basic science researches have been very good in the last two years. We are concentrating on people centred and quality research. Our placements are also very good,” said M. Arockiasamy Xavier, principal, Loyola College.

“We are truly grateful to all our stakeholders. Though we have been recognized by many other agencies in the past, this is a great moment for us. It serves as a value addition and helps to boost our efforts in ensuring that we work harder to take the college further,” said A. Nirmala, principal, Ethiraj College for Women, which ranked 16th.

“We will continue to work hard in all spheres to improve our image in the academia,” said R.W. Alexander Jesudasan, Principal, Madras Christian College, which ranked 12.

Stating that a major chunk of the A grade colleges under the National Assessment and Accreditation Council’s (NAAC) grading, are from Tamil Nadu, former vice chancellor, Madras University, S. P. Thyagarajan, said, “In the Higher Education Sector, Tamil Nadu stands on a better footing. The state is also doing far better in terms of research, which sees a greater weightage.” Ten among the 37 colleges were from Coimbatore alone.