The release today of the Times Higher Education (THE) 400 Top World University Ranking 2011/12, where not a single Malaysian university is included, has punctured the elation and euphoria just two months ago over the QS 200 World University Rankings 2011/12 which saw University of Malaya making to the top 200 Top Universities moving 40 places to 167 compared to 2010.
In the QS World University Rankings 2011/12 released in September, four other Malaysian universities slid down the rankings –University Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) ranked 279 this year compared to 263 in 2010; Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) ranked 335 (309 last year); Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) ranked 358 (319 last year) and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) at between 401 and 450 (365 last year).
But in the just-released THE 400 Top World University Ranking 2011/12, none of the Malaysian universities made it into the placings.
For the first time, Harvard (with Stanford) is at number two, failing to take the top spot in the list’s eight-year history when California Institute for Technology is named the best university in the world.
The rest of the Top Ten spots are Oxford (4), Princeton (5), Cambridge (6), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (70, Imperial College London (8), Chicago (9) and California (Berkeley) (10).
The top Asian universities in the THE 400 World University Ranking 2011/12 are:
30 – University of Tokyo (Japan)
34 – University of Hong Kong (HK)
40 – National University of Singapore (Singapore)
49 – Peking University (China)
52 – Kyoto University (Japan)
53 – Pohang University of Science and Technology (S.Korea)
62 – Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Hong Kong)
71 – Tsinghua University (China)
94 – Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (South Korea)
108 – Tokyo Institute of Technology (Japan)
119 – Osaka University (Japan)
120 – Tohoku University (Japan)
124 – Seoul National University (South Korea)
151 – Chinese University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong)
154 – National Taiwan University (Taiwan)
169 – Nanyang Technological University (Singapore)
192 – University of Science and Technology of China (China)
193 – City University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong)
Worth noting is that while not a single Malaysian university made it into the Times Higher Education (THE) 400 Top World Universities Ranking, Thailand through Mahidol University is ranked in the final category between 351-400.
#1 by sheriff singh on Thursday, 6 October 2011 - 7:29 pm
Yea !!! We finally reached rock bottom !!!
#2 by sheriff singh on Thursday, 6 October 2011 - 7:32 pm
p/s Parliament is in session.
Please ask Najib and Education Minister Muhyiddin for comments.
#3 by yhsiew on Thursday, 6 October 2011 - 10:06 pm
Perhaps teaching Science and Mathematics in BM will help reverse Malaysian universities ranking!!
#4 by monsterball on Thursday, 6 October 2011 - 10:11 pm
This is good news for UMNO b for as long as we are not so smart…..they can keep fooling the young Malaysians.
Every good idea for years have been rejected by these rouges and thieves.
#5 by waterfrontcoolie on Thursday, 6 October 2011 - 11:13 pm
YB, we need to remind the whole nation of how we have CLIMBED DOWN the ladder by posting say the position of UM since this programme started. This will indicate the comparative ‘drifting down syndrome’ of our education system and policy all these years! There is no other reason except the Gomen has politicized the whole educational system of this Bolehland through all kinds of ensuring that the future generations are kept ignorant for the sole purpose of easy indoctrination! I am wondering what reasons will be offered this time!
#6 by Godfather on Thursday, 6 October 2011 - 11:24 pm
This is a western conspiracy out to discredit the Najib regime. How dare they insinuate that our universities are on a par with the African universities ?
#7 by ENDANGERED HORNBILL on Friday, 7 October 2011 - 12:11 am
Sheriff Singh, what bottom?
Not in 400 does not yet mean we have hit rock bottom.
When we hit bottom, there would be a splash, something like Saifool’s bottom.
#8 by ENDANGERED HORNBILL on Friday, 7 October 2011 - 12:14 am
yhSiew,
Don’t add insult to injury.
Teaching Maths and Science in BM will probably get us to Saifool’s bottom faster and smoother.
#9 by cskok8 on Friday, 7 October 2011 - 12:17 am
What, how can our universities lose out to mere institutes and “schools”? Haven’t we heard so many “syiok sendiri” announcements that so and so college has been “upgraded” to university college and then to full university status.
#10 by boh-liao on Friday, 7 October 2011 - 1:17 am
Who cares abt d THE 400 Top World University Ranking 2011/12; mayb no M’sian U is in dis list bcos M’sian Us do not think highly of dis ranking system n did not participate in it
Look, our best local U, USM, d 1 n only apex U, now has a new VC who thanked his predecessor 4 transforming USM in2 a world class U
How BOLEH is dis new VC helming our world class 1 n only apex U?
http://hbp.usm.my/index.php/people/programme/construction-management/119-omar-osman
Click on his research, supervision, n publication – does he, paid by rakyat duit, give rakyat great confidence dat he has a great academic record 2 lead by example n 2 lead USM 2 d apex of world U ranking?
#11 by boh-liao on Friday, 7 October 2011 - 1:42 am
Not 2 worry, everything under control, next year M’sia WILL HV a U in d top 20 of d THE Top World University Ranking 2012/13
UmnoB know M’sia got $$ what n anything can b bot at a price, U tolong gua, gua tolong U
M’sia now has Perdana U (MMK its chancellor) n is working with Johns Hopkins U (US, ranked 14 dis year, goodie goodie)
So, UmnoB will buy up Johns Hopkins U n re-name it as a branch campus of Perdana U; voila, Perdana U will b in d top 20 of d THE Top World University Ranking 2012/13, easi saja
#12 by boh-liao on Friday, 7 October 2011 - 1:48 am
How come our UmnoB-led gomen does not recognise degrees of a number of Us in d THE 400 Top World University Ranking list? Y aah?
Our standard n demand MUST B VERY HIGH 1, don’t play play with us
#13 by trublumsian on Friday, 7 October 2011 - 3:36 am
that’s what we get when jibby put scums like fulofsai in college w/ scholarship (2 freaking days before the purported incident happened) in exchange for squirting a cocktail of DNAs on his association.
where is this news of not being lumped with the rest of these 400 zionist western conspiratorial scheme in our newspapers? the star, NST, utusan, anyone?? hello?
i know i know ooh ooh (hand raised) let’s start a TSHE (the star higher education) ranking. moo-he-didnt has the perfect formula for it!
#14 by pulau_sibu on Friday, 7 October 2011 - 4:48 am
as soon as umno thinks our universities are the best in the world, we should not be worried about this biased european ranking.
if you complain about the malay universities, then is mca’s utar better than malay universities?
#15 by Jeffrey on Friday, 7 October 2011 - 6:52 am
When have UMNOputras cared about others, esp Westerners’ assessment of our standards falling? If world’s opinion has counted would we have remained, after South Africa’s dismantling of Apartheid, almost the only nation whose policies (including educational/tertiary) structured on ethnic discrimination? The greater concern by our political elites is the preservation of political power and connections and with it the opportunities abound to make sinful amount of money with which their children can be sent to prestigious universities ranking high in Times Higher Education or QS World University Rankings. Neither is the minority of rich or well to do Malaysians bothered. They too have the resources to send their children else where to get the best and prestigious education.
#16 by Jeffrey on Friday, 7 October 2011 - 7:14 am
(Continuing from preceding post) However what is the hope for average Malaysians who couldn’t afford to send their children to high ranking universities abroad? The only consolation is to think of Steve Jobs (Stay Hungry & Foolish)! He was immensely successful even though he dropped out of college. Bill Gates dropped out of high ranking Harvard 30 years ago & became the richest man in the world. Of course these are exceptional cases but thinking of them cecks one from abyss of despair. Here one thinks how at the end of the day, it is still the University of Life that matters. How one develops depend on how one learns from it and gets to draw out one’s passion/interest that hones excellence and from there the market’s gratitude and financial rewards/success. Arguably nowhere is there a better University of Life than the environment/milieu here – plenty of hypocrisy/BS, discrimination of all sorts and character along ethnic religious class lines. It could bring out one’s creative and thinking out of the box skills. The only set back is the overarching obsession with money and status. There’s no balance between ethics and the mud raking search for making money. The more that is made, the greedier, and the greedier the less ethical. However if one can learn to strike and find the balance, its oK.
#17 by waterfrontcoolie on Friday, 7 October 2011 - 7:15 am
Those top US universities will NOT allow their name to be used in the scrolls if they do not have any say in the selection of student intake. Just like the MIT coordinated logistics programme at UiTM. They also cari makan on the side-line!
UTAR, if programmed with the same political philosophy will meet the same fate; though in selection, it is open to everyone. In practice, MCA sponsored candidates at the border also bolehlah! For that matter, many MCA sponsored Chinese students who just have average results also masuk the ‘most desired faculties’ just to tell the world ” we also open to all! This is the kind of mentality that really “gostan” the nation! the same applies to MIC sponsored students!
The late Icon: Steve Jobs would still be a labourer had he was born in this Bolehland! [ Sorry! Steve for dragging you in here]
#18 by dagen on Friday, 7 October 2011 - 8:10 am
No lah. Steve would certainly do better than that. I say he would be a computer technician if he was a malaysian.
About our universities, i sometimes wonder what would it be like if final yr students in our public universities were subject to say A-level examinations. How would the average final yr student perform?
#19 by dagen on Friday, 7 October 2011 - 8:28 am
HKU – 34
NUS – 40
MU – out of range. Still mooooing away somewhere, perhaps.
“Hey you Mu come back!”
“Errr excuse me sir” “That’s not Mu your looking for.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. Keris?”
“Yea, what about keris?”
“Well keris. He had Mu beheaded.” “And and he stomped …”
“Oh!!?? WTF!”
So you see people, and you too sheriff. You see why even our best uni is missing from that long list.
#20 by rockdaboat on Friday, 7 October 2011 - 9:00 am
Now our so-called leaders will say: “Who cares about the assessments by westerners? They are bias and inaccurate!”
Wait a minute, but just two months ago, these same group of people were elated because the ranking of our universities had “improved” and none of the so-called leaders had run down on the assessments of the “westerners”!
The point: Our so-called leaders like to shiok sendiri.
#21 by drngsc on Friday, 7 October 2011 - 9:05 am
I graduated in 1975. I remembered clearly that when many candidates of a certain race failed their final year medical exams, in faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, the dean and my mentor, the late Prof TJ Danaraj was called up by the VC at that time, to explain why he had failed so many of the candidates from a certain race. He told the Uni Council, that in his opinion, they were not up to the mark.
With that statement, his days were numbered, and so were the days of the UM faculty of Medicine, thereafter skin colour became an important criteria for entrance and passing of exams. So sad.
We need to change the tenant at Putrajaya. GE 13 is our best chance. Failure is not an option. We all must work very very hard.
#22 by sheriff singh on Friday, 7 October 2011 - 9:28 am
I am told MU is having a pasar tani / pasar siang / pasar malam / tamu / jual murah all week long. You can go and do your weekly shopping there. Keropok, bajus, kain-kain, tid-bits, kasut, cosmetic, fruits, vegetables etc etc,
Oh, by the way, there is also a convocation ceremony going on.
This is how our Universities celebrate their student’s graduation – by having a pasar.
Welcome to reality, to the real world, to 1Malaysia. We are transformed.
#23 by boh-liao on Friday, 7 October 2011 - 9:52 am
Moo 2 MMK n NR: Can believe/trust dis list 1 aah? Can aah? Incredible 1 lah.
How can our neighbor with a population of less than 5.3 million hv TWO universities in d 200 Top World University Ranking 2011/12?! Pay under d counter $$$, ya?
#24 by dagen on Friday, 7 October 2011 - 10:21 am
Steve Jobs spoke at a certain event in stanford. He told them to “stay hungry” and “stay foolish”. Let me speak to all umnoputras from this platform – this lim kit siang blog. Are you people hungry? I know that you people are really stupid. But are you foolish? Stupid is not the same thing as foolish. Being foolish is a choice. That is why steve said we can elect to “stay foolish”. Stupidity is a genetic defect and there is no known cure. So you people are fat and stupid! Boy. Oh boy!
#25 by Godfather on Friday, 7 October 2011 - 11:37 am
Aiya it’s not fair ma…..they only rank up to 400. If they had ranked up to 500, we would definitely be on the list…..see, they deliberately excluded us by stopping the ranking at 400.
That’s the Perkasa reasoning. And quite a number will believe this “rationale”.
#26 by waterfrontcoolie on Friday, 7 October 2011 - 10:40 pm
Baased on the attachment by boh-liao, the USM hasn’t got of teaching nor research experience, another bloke being hoisted up by UMNO! Well, we will continue to produce Nobel winners in our dreams! Sleep well, Malaysian leaders! and dream on Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!
#27 by chengho on Saturday, 8 October 2011 - 7:41 am
why do you expect when you start your children education from vernacular school?…
#28 by boh-liao on Saturday, 8 October 2011 - 11:18 am
O yes, actually our UmnoB-led gomen was truly visionary, cos it realised dat a university education is really of no value 1 what
So, no need 2 hv world class uni here, rather need 2 hv more uni dropouts (macam Bill n Steve) 2 revolutionise d world
#29 by waterfrontcoolie on Saturday, 8 October 2011 - 11:55 pm
One thing that seems confusing is that there are so many US unversities at the top of the list and yet apart from those foreigners who enter the research sector, how come USA can not compete in productivty and efficiency! This is the contradiction! At PISA level, American student were practically very average!
#30 by PRmaju on Sunday, 9 October 2011 - 6:17 am
To all the stupid commentors here, We Perkosa warriors believe that those western institutions were jealous of our achievement, so they come up with a ranking system that disfavour us . Comparing our universities to other universities is like comparing apple to orange ! We are proud of our Universities that have made tremendous achievement in turning out so many of our people into graduates,.
#31 by waterfrontcoolie on Sunday, 9 October 2011 - 9:46 am
This morning, while going to port Klang for Bakuteh, we were caught in a massive jam in front of the schools located along this road. Later I was to find out that the jam was caused by parents sinding their children to the Private school Hin Hua to sit for the entry to Form 1 examination! It is the new trend in the faith of the private schools! Say 10 or 15 years ago, such schools found it difficult to recruit students. Today, the situation is different. I know for a fact that the English classes at this school is handled by a law graduate from one of the top law universities in UK! She prefers this to the judiciary system which affects her conscience! It is obvious, that notwithstanding the “candies’ offered by the new budget, many enlightened parents just do not have faith that the Gomen schools will deliver the programme to prepare their children for this competitive world! Of we will let people like PRmaju to continue to hide behind all kinds of slogans just for feeling good. We are talking of the competitiveness of the average graduates not the handful one can always find in any country. The sad thing is those handful are created to be self-serving in spite of the fact that the tax payers have been the sponsors! Not the current Gomen for sure!
#32 by boh-liao on Tuesday, 11 October 2011 - 11:03 am
Higher Education Minister explained 2day
“We know that if we participated, we will not even make it into the Times top 400 university rankings because we are new, we need to wait until our research really matured.”
“It’s not that we have been assessed and disqualified… [but] our elements of research are just too young and immature [to make the list].”
Great, at least he acknowledged dat our local Us r not world class
But d reason he gave is partially NOT ACCEPTABLE: UM is NOT TOO YOUNG (e.g., compared to Monash U, established in 1958), but our local Us are certainly too immature, all bcos of d race/NEP rules imposed by UmnoB over the last 40 years