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PHL schools fall in rankings of top world universities
(Updated 1:23 a.m., Sept. 6) Four Philippine universities have fallen from their previous rankings on the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) list of top tertiary educational institutions worldwide. In the QS World University Rankings 2011 released Monday, no Philippine university made it to the top 300 list, which was once again topped by the United Kingdom’s Cambridge University. 
University of the Philippines (UP), which used to be ranked 314th in 2010, dropped to 332, according to the QS survey. Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU), meanwhile, fell to 360 from 307 last year, and De La Salle University (DLSU) went down from the 451-500 bracket to the 551-600 bracket this year. University of Santo Tomas (UST), on the other hand, fell out of the Top 600 universities from the 551-600 bracket in 2010. “If a university is not included in the top 600, it does not in any way imply that it is offering substandard service to students," clarified QS editor Danny Byrne in a phone interview aired on GMA 7’s late evening news program “Saksi". “Iyong rationalization strategies natin at quality assurance mechanisms ay pinagtutuunan ng pansin ngayon, kasi napakarami na rin ang mga kolehiyo at programa, kung kaya iyong mga substandard na programa o paaralan ay kailangan i-phase out na rin," explained Commission on Higher Education (CHED) executive director Julito Vitriolo in a phone interview aired also on “Saksi. Consistent budget cuts in higher education largely contributed to the marked decline in world rankings of Philippines universities, a lawmaker said Monday.
In a statement, Kabataan party-list Rep. Raymond Palatino said the poor ranking of Philippine universities in a Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) survey is indicative of the “long-standing education crisis" in the country, particularly at the college level. Investment and education John O’Leary, a member of the QS Advisory Board, said the 2011 results of the QS study gave a “clear illustration of the link between investment and results in higher education." “Countries that have cut funding for higher education have seen a gradual decline in the international standing of their universities," O'Leary said in a statement sent to GMA News Online. Kabataan’s Palatino said the Philippines’ poor ranking in the QS survey reflects a “tragic and embarrassing" crisis besetting higher education in the country today. “I hope the Aquino government realizes this," he said. In the Aquino administration’s proposed national budget for 2012, state universities and colleges (SUCs) will lose much as P500 million, following the P1-billion combined budget cut for 97 SUCs in 2010. The drop in rankings of Philippine universities may come as a disappointment but not a surprise, considering “thousands of students recently took to the streets in protest of the government’s budget cuts in higher education," QS said. Just last month, a violent dispersal of youth groups protesting the budget cuts left five people injured. “President Aquino recently compared his love life to Coke: from regular it has become light and now zero. The same could be said with regard to our SUCs budget," Palatino quipped. UP is the only Philippine SUC in the QS world universities rankings, while AdMU, DLSU and UST are all Philippine private universities run by religious orders. A wake-up call The National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP) said the drop in rankings of Philippine universities should serve as a wake-up call for President Aquino. The President should stop the new round of proposals to cut budgets for the country’s state schools, the student union said. NUSP said in a separate statement it was “not surprised" that the state university dropped in the SQ rankings. “Last year, the operations budget of State Universities and Colleges have experienced a phenomenal cut that amounted to more than P1 billion. For 2012, a total amount of P569.8 million will be slashed in 50 SUCs," NUSP said. The group urged the Aquino administration to review its policies and programs in financing public universities, saying the government has not supported the construction of new buildings and facilities that can accommodate the large number of students that enroll every year. “If we want to improve the quality of education, the state should invest more on education and not do the opposite," NUSP said. Top ‘English language, literature’ universities The QS World University Rankings evaluates universities around the world based on indicators like academic peer review, citations per faculty member, number of international students and faculty, and student-faculty ratio. QS also evaluates the universities' performance in teaching five key subject areas, namely, Arts and Humanities; Engineering and IT; Life Sciences and Biomedicine; Natural Sciences; and Social Sciences. In July, the QS World University Rankings by Subject placed UP at the 34th spot while AdMU ranked 35th among universities around the world that teach English and Literature. The two Philippine universities had even bested the United Kingdom’s University of Manchester (43rd), as well as Georgetown University (49th), Dartmouth College (51-100) and Fordham University (151-200) in the United States. Also on the list of best English-teaching universities worldwide were DLSU in the 50-100 bracket and UST in the 101-150 bracket. Many of the Top 25 universities on the list are in the United Kingdom and the United States of America. Topping the list was the University of Cambridge (UK), followed by Harvard University (US), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US), Yale University (US), and Oxford University (UK). Only two universities from Asia are on the Top 25, namely the University of Hong Kong (22nd place) and the University of Tokyo (25th place). — With Candice Montenegro /MRT/VS, GMA News
The country's top four universities all declined in world rankings in the last year, the result of meager investment in higher education. Manix Abrera
In a statement, Kabataan party-list Rep. Raymond Palatino said the poor ranking of Philippine universities in a Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) survey is indicative of the “long-standing education crisis" in the country, particularly at the college level. Investment and education John O’Leary, a member of the QS Advisory Board, said the 2011 results of the QS study gave a “clear illustration of the link between investment and results in higher education." “Countries that have cut funding for higher education have seen a gradual decline in the international standing of their universities," O'Leary said in a statement sent to GMA News Online. Kabataan’s Palatino said the Philippines’ poor ranking in the QS survey reflects a “tragic and embarrassing" crisis besetting higher education in the country today. “I hope the Aquino government realizes this," he said. In the Aquino administration’s proposed national budget for 2012, state universities and colleges (SUCs) will lose much as P500 million, following the P1-billion combined budget cut for 97 SUCs in 2010. The drop in rankings of Philippine universities may come as a disappointment but not a surprise, considering “thousands of students recently took to the streets in protest of the government’s budget cuts in higher education," QS said. Just last month, a violent dispersal of youth groups protesting the budget cuts left five people injured. “President Aquino recently compared his love life to Coke: from regular it has become light and now zero. The same could be said with regard to our SUCs budget," Palatino quipped. UP is the only Philippine SUC in the QS world universities rankings, while AdMU, DLSU and UST are all Philippine private universities run by religious orders. A wake-up call The National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP) said the drop in rankings of Philippine universities should serve as a wake-up call for President Aquino. The President should stop the new round of proposals to cut budgets for the country’s state schools, the student union said. NUSP said in a separate statement it was “not surprised" that the state university dropped in the SQ rankings. “Last year, the operations budget of State Universities and Colleges have experienced a phenomenal cut that amounted to more than P1 billion. For 2012, a total amount of P569.8 million will be slashed in 50 SUCs," NUSP said. The group urged the Aquino administration to review its policies and programs in financing public universities, saying the government has not supported the construction of new buildings and facilities that can accommodate the large number of students that enroll every year. “If we want to improve the quality of education, the state should invest more on education and not do the opposite," NUSP said. Top ‘English language, literature’ universities The QS World University Rankings evaluates universities around the world based on indicators like academic peer review, citations per faculty member, number of international students and faculty, and student-faculty ratio. QS also evaluates the universities' performance in teaching five key subject areas, namely, Arts and Humanities; Engineering and IT; Life Sciences and Biomedicine; Natural Sciences; and Social Sciences. In July, the QS World University Rankings by Subject placed UP at the 34th spot while AdMU ranked 35th among universities around the world that teach English and Literature. The two Philippine universities had even bested the United Kingdom’s University of Manchester (43rd), as well as Georgetown University (49th), Dartmouth College (51-100) and Fordham University (151-200) in the United States. Also on the list of best English-teaching universities worldwide were DLSU in the 50-100 bracket and UST in the 101-150 bracket. Many of the Top 25 universities on the list are in the United Kingdom and the United States of America. Topping the list was the University of Cambridge (UK), followed by Harvard University (US), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US), Yale University (US), and Oxford University (UK). Only two universities from Asia are on the Top 25, namely the University of Hong Kong (22nd place) and the University of Tokyo (25th place). — With Candice Montenegro /MRT/VS, GMA News
