Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Like previous years, Pakistan has once again failed to mark its presence in the 100 most reputable universities in the world-list of 2016. Despite Pakistan and India’s absence on the list, Asia increases its standing in this year’s Times Higher Education (THE) World Reputation Rankings.

Times Higher Education (THE) World University Ranking has issued a list of top 100 most reputed institution of higher education across the world. The Harvard University is on top of the list, which is being followed by seven other American universities in top ten, whereas UK’s University of Cambridge and University of Oxford also on the 5th and 6th positions respectively.

Times World Reputation Rankings 2016 is based on a survey of more than 10,000 top scholars from around the world. Each academic was asked to name up to 15 universities that they believe are the best for research and teaching in their discipline. Votes for institutions based on research prowess were given twice the weight of those for teaching.

Good news for Asia is that it has increased its share of institutions in a global ranking of the world’s most prestigious universities. The continent has 18 institutions in the Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings 2016, up from 10 last year. The Asia’s top performer Japan’s University of Tokyo held on to 12th position in the list, while China’s Tsinghua University and Peking University leaped 8th and 11th places, respectively, to reach 18th and 21st place.

These two nations also led the region in the number of representatives in the top 100 list with five universities each, up from two each last year.

The ranking also shows that the European universities have losing their position in the list as the two institutions of United Kingdom the University of Bristol and Durham University have fallen out of the top 100 whereas seven out of total 10 UK’s universities in the list have slipped to lower positions. Furthermore, four German universities of six and four universities of Netherland’s five universities couldn’t maintain their previous positions. In many cases, these European universities achieved similar or higher scores than they did last year, but they did not improve as rapidly as institutions in Asia.

Responding on the latest ranking the Chairman Higher Education Commission (HEC) has said; “We need more time to get a place in top 100 universities of the world but now the things are improving on a fast track. The focus on the higher education is not shifting from western world to eastern world.” He further said; “there is a need of huge investment, quality of education and faculty enhancement to successes in top university, but we are quite hopeful that the future would be more bright as compare to past in terms of higher education in the country.”

Besides optimistic approach of Dr. Mukhtar, the renowned educationist Dr. Pervez Amirali Hoodbhoy while talking to the Daily Times ruled out any possibility to become on the top level in higher education sector for next fifty years and said; “The HEC is taking only cosmetic measures in education sector, whereas the research needs a strong educational foundations, but unfortunately we don’t have that system from grass root level.”

He quoted the example of Saudi Arabia and said; “Saudi Arabia open its wealth for education sector, best university building are available and their laboratories are with full of latest equipment, but they have produce nothing so far.”

He also criticized country’s educational system by saying; “we are the nation who lives in past, but fact is that only those nations progressed, who adopt futuristic approach.”