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BHU’s Dental College appeared twice in NIRF 2025 rankings, with conflicting placement data and perception scores, raising concerns over accuracy in India’s top ranking system.
BHU Dental College listed twice in NIRF 2025 with conflicting placement data.
The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), considered one of the most important and trusted rankings by students, has come under scrutiny after an unusual duplication was spotted in its 2025 list. Banaras Hindu University’s (BHU) Faculty of Dental Sciences has appeared twice in the dental category — once at the 15th position and again at the 18th spot.
This is the first time a premier institution has been listed twice in the same category, raising questions about data accuracy and verification in India’s flagship ranking exercise.
The duplication occurred because separate submissions were made — one by BHU’s central administration and another by the Faculty of Dental Sciences itself. While the basic details like intake, finances, and infrastructure are identical, there are stark differences in the data on placements and median salaries of graduates.
UG (BDS) and PG (MDS) Placement Data Differences
| Programme | Academic Year | Graduates | Placed (Faculty Of Dental Sciences Data) | Median Salary (Faculty Of Dental Sciences Data) | Placed (BHU Data) | Median Salary (BHU Data) |
| UG | 2021-22 | 39 | 20 | Rs 14,00,000 | 0 | Rs 0 |
| 2022-23 | 46 | 23 | Rs 12,00,000 | 20 | Rs 9,60,000 | |
| 2023-24 | 47 | 20 | Rs 9,60,000 | 20 | Rs 9,60,000 | |
| PG | 2021-22 | 12 | 8 | Rs 14,20,000 | 5 | Rs 11,80,000 |
| 2022-23 | 19 | 17 | Rs 12,90,000 | 15 | Rs 14,40,000 | |
| 2023-24 | 24 | 10 | Rs 12,00,000 | 10 | Rs 14,20,000 |
These mismatches in placement numbers and salary figures for the same graduating batches have raised doubts about how NIRF verifies institutional submissions before publishing rankings.
Faculty Of Dental Sciences Data
BHU Data
Adding to the concerns, there are also discrepancies in the NIRF scores awarded to the same institution. The two entries show significant differences, particularly in the “Perception” parameter, where the scores differ by over 17 points (63.77 vs 46.48).
The difference in score for “Perception” can be seen in the chart below.
Scores For Faculty Of Dental Sciences
Scores For BHU
The NIRF 2025 rankings, announced last week by Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, rely on two sets of inputs — the data submitted by institutions and the scores awarded by NIRF evaluators. In BHU’s case, both sets of submissions were accepted, resulting in two rankings for the same institute and exposing gaps in the methodology for data validation.
Notably in the rankings, BHU is listed under the institute ID “IR-N-U-0500″, while the Faculty of Dental Sciences carries a separate ID, “IR-N-N-71″. Higher education institutions are also required to publish their NIRF submissions on their official websites. The IMS BHU Faculty of Dental Sciences has posted its own submission on its website under its specific ID, IR-N-N-71.
What BHU Said?
Speaking to News18.com, Harakh Chand Baranwal, Dean and Head of the Faculty of Dental Sciences at BHU, said the duplication in the rankings was caused by “confusion” when both the faculty and the central BHU administration submitted data to NIRF. “We have been submitting data to NIRF for many years,” he added.
Regarding the discrepancies in placement data, he suggested, “It could be due to older data being used, with some additional students placed, or possibly a printing error. We are inquiring into this.”
Notably, the National Board of Accreditation (NBA) prepares the NIRF rankings and invites institutions to register for rankings in various disciplines as well as for the overall ranking.
News18 is trying to get a statement from the NBA regarding the error in the rankings and will update the story once the information is received.
Archit Gupta is a Chief Sub-Editor at News18.com and a seasoned education journalist specialising in reporting on education and employment. He has covered a variety of education-related stories, including high-…Read More
Archit Gupta is a Chief Sub-Editor at News18.com and a seasoned education journalist specialising in reporting on education and employment. He has covered a variety of education-related stories, including high-… Read More
September 08, 2025, 10:16 IST
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