Lucknow University Reviews & Rating - Student, Faculty, Hostel, Placements, Campus

Campus at a Glance

The century-old campus of Lucknow University screams history and heritage in the minds of students and faculty alike. The University's foundation was rooted in the contributions of three colleges, namely: King George's Medical University, Canning College and Isabella Thoburn College. Established in 1920, the University of Lucknow has received an A++ grade from NAAC.

The 223-acre campus is an architectural feast in itself with the greenery and beautifully carved and curated old structures. As per Lucknow University website, there are a total of 17 institutes and 47 departments offering 15 undergraduate courses and 67 postgraduate courses in its two campuses. The courses are offered in multiple streams like Arts, Commerce, Education, Fine Arts, Law, Science, Engineering and Technology, Ayurveda, Unani, Yoga and Alternative Medicine.

The website mentions that the student-to-faculty ratio currently stands at 16365:478, which is fairly decent at 34%. Male students comprise 56% and females stand at a satisfactory 44%. However, the percentage of students living outside Uttar Pradesh is at a distressing 1%. It is evident that the university has not been a favourable choice for students living outside UP. The reasons can be directed towards university administration, location, placement, exposure and a few other factors which we have discussed below.

Lucknow University Ranking

NIRF Ranking: Thriving!

Our Take: 

Given the NIRF parameters namely, Teaching, Learning & Resources, Research and Professional Practice (RP), Graduation Outcomes (GO), Outreach and Inclusivity (OI) and Peer Perception, Lucknow University has been included in the rank band 101-150, out of 200 top-performing universities in India, which is progressive. We can infer that the performance growth has been significant in 2023 as compared to recent years in the past. 

Lucknow University Academia and Batch Size

Lucknow University is the first university to adopt the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. It follows the Choice Based Credit System(CBCS) allowing students to choose their desired courses. As per the Lucknow University Self-Study Report for its 3rd Accreditation Cycle, the university has adopted the following as a part of its curriculum- 

• Electives
• Value Added Courses 
• MOOCs
• Non-Value Added Courses
• Intra-Departmental Courses
• Inter-Departmental Courses
• Mous with Ngos’s, Industries, Central and State Government Institutes in India and abroad

Academic Composition

Lucknow University's academia is a mix of classrooms, assignments, projects and exams. The weightage for each varies from course to course.

Batch Size

As per the NIRF 2022 report, for the UG 3-year program, the total student count was recorded at 9012 against the sanctioned seat intake of 3406. Similarly, for UG 4-year and PG 2-year programs, the number of students that were offered admission beyond the approved intake limit was 830 and 1659, respectively.

Fees

Fees-wise, according to some students the numbers are a bit above the line while others considered the Lucknow University fee structure to be reasonable. 

Let us have a look at the fees charged by the university:

The fees for some of the popular Lucknow University courses are as follows:

Our Take:

• Even though Lucknow University has added multiple value additions to its curriculum, students have expressed that the curriculum is not relevant enough to suit the needs of the present education fraternity. And, if that holds true, the university needs to do a bit more moderation in its curriculum.
• The total approved seat intake is 7,228 and currently, 16,365 students are enrolled in Lucknow University not to mention that the university claims to maintain a faculty-to-student ratio of 34:1. This clearly indicates that Lucknow University is increasing the number of batches maintaining a decent ratio value! The quality of teaching suffers as faculty members are allocated an excess number of classes.
• The fee range of INR 3,500-INR 50,000 per semester falls on a reasonable slab as compared to other state universities.

Lucknow University Infrastructure

Classrooms/Seminar Halls

As per the Lucknow University website, out of 343, 326  ICT-enabled classrooms and seminar halls are provided to the students.

Labs

The Department of Life Sciences and Physical Sciences have separate laboratories. Apart from that, the university has a Computer Lab and an English Communication Laboratory.

Library

Tagore Library, serves as the central library of Lucknow University, alongside a Cyber Library featuring 538 computers available for student use. Additionally, a Cooperative Lending Library, initiated by the state government in 1966-67, has an extensive collection of 76,450 books, which is what the university boasts about! Separate department-wise libraries are also available.

Internet

The campus is said to be equipped with a 24/7 power supply and high-speed gigabit bandwidth through the National Knowledge Network, along with complimentary Wi-Fi access.

Sports Facilities

With two playgrounds on the old campus and 1 on the new campus of Lucknow University, students can play football, cricket, volleyball, and athletics. The in-house sports that students can enjoy are badminton, table tennis, chess, karate, judo and taekwondo. 

Gym

As per the website, Lucknow University has a fully equipped "Sir Maharaj Singh Gymnasium" on the old campus, housing 35 exercise machines. The new campus also offers a gymnasium facility to its students.

Canteen

Given its vast boundary, 5 canteens are available for students on the old campus and 3 on the new campus. Here is a snippet of the canteen’s location within the campus:

Our Take: 

• As per student's feedback, we can conclude that Lucknow University has provided considerable refreshment facilities to its students. The canteen near the Administrative Block at Gate No 1 is the student’s favourite. The prices are reasonable.
• Nevertheless, as per some students, a few canteens offer a rather limited selection of snacks, and there are concerns about the cleanliness of the tables and chairs provided.

Hostel

Lucknow University provides separate accommodation facilities for boys and girls There are a total of 8 girl hostels and 10 boy hostels. According to a student’s feedback from the 2022 batch, the hostel fee is INR 5,000 per annum, The other fees that are to be paid along with the hostel fee are:

• Mess Fees: INR 24,000 for the first six months and INR 16,000 for the next six months
• Caution Fee: It ranges between INR 3,000 and INR 4,000, which is refundable.

Here is the list of hostels available for students in Lucknow University:

 

Our Take: 

Students have commented that after its renovation in 2020, the hostel facilities have improved. Subhash Hostel is the most famous among the boy's hostels. However, they have also shared that getting a hostel is a tedious job. Students often have to arrange for paying guest accommodation or room, which is readily available in close proximity at reasonable prices.
 

Other Facilities

Students are provided with a student support system, a full-fledged office of the Dean of Students Welfare. Arogya Bhawan, Yoga Centre, and Child Care Centre are a few other facilities available.
 

Innovative Schemes

Chhatra Kalyan Yojana, Karamyogi, Our People’s Day, and Mentor-Mentee Programme-TREE (Teaching, Reaching, Emboldening, Evolving) are a few innovative schemes adopted by LU as mentioned on its website.

Lucknow University Internships and Placements

Internships:

The Lucknow University website mentions that students are offered internships in various government as well as non-government organizations across Lucknow and outside the city. The following data was retrieved from the NAAC 3rd Cycle Accreditation Report 2021 of Lucknow University:

 

Placements:

Lucknow University in its NAAC self-study report claims that the highest salary package is recorded at INR 16 LPA. It also mentions that it is the responsibility of the Career Placement Cell (CPC) to provide placement to at least 70% of its students. TCS, Infosys, Reliance, BYJU, ICICI etc. are some of the top recruiters mentioned in the report. 

When asked about the same, MBA students expressed that very few companies approach the university. On the other hand, a B.Tech CSE student states that the average package for their department spans from INR 5 LPA to INR 6 LPA.

The Lucknow University placement statistics derived from the NIRF report for 2022 are as follows:

Our Take: 

As Lucknow University claims that the placement cell has to meet the target of 70% placement percentage, it indicates that the placement percentage is quite low. The data available in the NIRF report justifies the same. The placement percentage for the PG 2-year program is very meagre at 18%. Similarly, for the UG 3-year programme, the placement percentage is quite alarming at only 11%.

Lucknow University Diversity and Demographics

Lucknow University claims to have diverse students PAN India with a special focus on lower economic strata. Additionally, the university proudly notes the enrollment of international students hailing from Mauritius, Africa, Iran, and Afghanistan. However, many students claimed that casteism and regionalism still have some of its roots within the campus. Campus politics is another major issue that the students talked about. The gender ratio index and demographic representation of Lucknow University students as per NIRF report 2023 are shown below: 

Lucknow University: Gender Ratio Index

Lucknow University: Demographic Diversity

Our Take: 

• The female-to-male ratio for UG 3-year and PG 2-year program stands at 70% which does align with the gender-sensitive environment that Lucknow University claims to have.
• 99% of the total students are from UP.  With only 1% of students from outside UP,  it is evident that students prefer taking admission in other universities instead of the University of Lucknow. 
• Campus politics is common in state universities. However,  a balance between education and politics needs to be maintained,  or else,  there may be consequences that students have to bear at the time of results. 

 

Lucknow University Faculty and Administration/Management

As per the University of Lucknow website, the faculty count currently stands at 478. Students have expressed that teachers carry the pride of being a part of this archaic university, however, the pride takes the form of arrogance in a few departments. They further added that teachers frequently arrive late for classes and there is a lack of active engagement in teaching. A student from the Geography department highlighted that few faculty members are not capable of guiding the students the right way.

Students from outside UP are often faced with the unprofessional attitude and ignorant behaviour of the administration staff. Some students mentioned that the staff rarely communicates directly with students and instead sends messengers, who also exhibit rudeness. At times, students are not allowed inside the administration office. Communication behaviour is another issue for non-Hindi and foreign students as most of the staff are not well-versed in English.

According to the student's feedback, the working process is slow. The results are often declared late. Corruption is also seen in a few cases. 

Our Take:

Given its esteemed reputation of being a senior educational institute, Lucknow University needs to address the rude and ignorant behaviour of its administrative staff and faculty members. Such incidents can cause stress among the students not to mention the adverse effects on studies. The university needs staff that are fluent in English and understand their job well. Otherwise, such reasons can add up to incidents as can be seen in the case of student diversity with only 1% of students taking admission from outside UP.

Lucknow University Location

University of Lucknow old campus is situated in Badshah Bagh near Hanuman Setu and the new campus is nestled at  Jankipuram in Uttar Pradesh. LU's old campus has two entrances, Gate No. 1(Bhaurao Devrath Dwar) and Gate No. 4. The second entrance is connected to the Vishwavidyalaya Metro Station.

Our Take: 

Despite being in a favourable location, students have expressed that the nearby environment is not safe, especially for girls. Unnecessary crowds are a common sight near the campus premises.

Lucknow University: Expectation Vs. Reality- CLD Verdict

Apart from being listed as one of the top 150 universities in India by NIRF, Lucknow University boasts about being a no-vehicle zone and plastic-free campus. Plastics below 50 microns are prohibited on the campus. Another brownie point is the disabled-friendly environment that the university provides. LU claims that the majority of the faculty buildings are equipped with ramps to accommodate differently abled students. Throughout the campus, there are accessible washrooms designed for individuals with disabilities. 

Coming to reality-check, the university undoubtedly has provided good facilities to its students, however, student feedback can be summarised as:

• Little to no exposure which is evident given the unbalanced student diversity. 
• Faculty needs an upgrade and more responsible staff must be recruited by the university. 
• Placement statistics are not at all satisfactory with placement percentage below 30%
• Campus politics and corruption must be kept in check.

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