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Updated: Aug 01, 2019 08:24 IST

London: Bengaluru has been rated the best student city in India and London the world’s best, based on a ranking that focuses on the number and performance of universities, employers hiring, the city’s affordability, desirability and quality of life, and the diversity of the student body.

London is the world’s best student city for the second consecutive year, according to the sixth edition of the QS Best Student Cities Ranking2019 compiled by global consulting firm QS Quacquarelli Symonds.

The global rankings of 120 top student cities released here on Wednesday include four Indian cities: Bengaluru (81st), Mumbai (85th), Delhi (113th) and Chennai (115th).

Bengaluru is home to several institutions, including the Indian Institute of Science that has increasingly figured in global rankings in recent years. The rankings are also informed by feedback from over 87,000 current and prospective international students.

Ben Sowter, research director at QS, said: “Our ranking looks at cities that are attractive to students and in particular, to the international ones. As India’s main priority is to meet its domestic, rapid growth access to higher education, some of our criteria penalize the Indian megalopolis featured”.

“Nevertheless, it is encouraging to see Bengaluru’s debut at the top of the national list and to see Mumbai growing in popularity among students. Both Delhi and Chennai perform very well on the affordability criterion, an aspect that it is essential to sustain the internal demand for university education”.

The ranking includes 14 cities each from the US and UK, led by London (1st) and Boston (12th) respectively. Asia’s top student city remains Tokyo (2nd) followed by Seoul (10th) and Hong Kong (14th); China’s top are Beijing (32nd) and Shanghai (33rd):

The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “The fact that London has again been ranked the best city in the world in which to be a student is fantastic news – and is no surprise given that London is home to world-leading higher education institutions and a vibrant cultural life”.

S Japhet, vice-chancellor of the Bengaluru Central University, said it was a proud moment for the city. “This reaffirms the city’s status as the knowledge capital of the country,” Japhet said. “I feel this is primarily because Bengaluru is the most cosmopolitan city in the country,” he added.

According to the All India Survey of Higher Education 2017-18, Karnataka had the largest number of foreign students studying in the country. This, Japhet said, was proof not just of the state’s welcoming nature, “but it also home to such institutions as the Indian Institute of Science, the National Centre for Biological Sciences, the Indian Institute of Management- Bangalore, among others. “And it isn’t just students from abroad, students from across the country, too, flock to the city,” he added.

Japhet, who was a founding faculty of the National Law School of India University, said that in terms of employment as well Bengaluru was a major hub. “It is not just the Information Technology and Biotechnology sectors that are employment generators, there are many more employment options as well,” said Japhet, who completed his studies in the city.

“Of course, one must not forget to mention Bengaluru’s weather as a major factor. After all, we have the best weather of any city in the country,” he added.