There is no such thing as a free lunch.

Almost right after pouring in RM400 million on research money for private universities, on top of the RM600 million exclusively for the country’s five research universities, government has made it clear that they want universities to make it into the Top 100 in the world rankings.

The recent results of QS (Quacquarelli Symonds) World University rankings showed that the country’s best bets – Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Universiti Sains Malaysia, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, International Islamic Universiti Malaysia and Universiti Teknologi Mara – have all slide down. Universiti Malaysia (UM), however, managed to jump from 167^th to 156th.

Of course there were other rankings, such as the Times List 400 in October which didn’t include any Malaysian university except for UKM that made it in the Top 100 University under 50 category.

Although rankings can reflect very broad trends in academic quality, some speculators believe that all these annual results may perpetuate an unhealthy obsession with rankings in higher education.

Not a guarantee to students’ overall learning experience

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin recently expressed his wish to see more universities in the Top 100 world rankings. 

He said it’s only through international prestige that the old notion that the best education can be available abroad can be dispelled. Statements such as this is common to leaders in Malaysian higher education and state governments but can manifest as an obsession with rankings.

In response to that, UM lecturer Dr Azmi Sharom believes that there’s more to a university than rankings and that students must not base this in choosing a university that best suits their course.

He wrote in his blog, “Depending on what you are looking for in a university, you may find excellent universities which are not ranked. I am thinking of some very good American liberal arts colleges where students get an excellent holistic education but because publications are not high on the university’s agenda, they rank poorly.”

To attract high-ability students, universities well-known for their top level research also need to guarantee a good standard in non-research aspects.

Dr Azmi believes that the real key to a good undergraduate university education is not whether their lectures are regularly publishing in ISI (Institute of Scientific Information-indexed) journals. It is whether they are teaching the subjects [students] want and teaching it well.

Emphasis on research quality and not on numbers

Whether we like it or not, the importance of rankings is inevitable and students who are seriously investing on education abroad will need this standard information to know how a university is perceived by its academic peers and employers.

Moreover, benchmarking our universities against the world’s best can be beneficial. For one, it can be a positive move for lecturers and professors to be on top of their game.

According to Dr Mohamad Nor Mohamad Taib, Director of the Malaysian Teachers Education Institute, it is only through action research, teachers could bring a new paradigm in teaching and learning in the classroom, thus encouraging two ways communication between teachers and students.  

According to statistics, the National University of Singapore published 5,000 ISI journal papers in 2009 compared to UM which produced 1,300 ISI journal papers. 

The Malaysian Journal of Library and Information Science, which coincidentally belongs to UM, is among the leading journals where most Malaysian academic researcher published their paper.

With the available research funds, government and institutions of higher learning expect academicians to publish in journals indexed in webs of science/ISI, or at least try to get their papers published in scopus indexed journal.

However, there's a clear preference for ISI journals. A work that has been indexed in an ISI journal can be tracked – how often it has been cited and who has cited them.

“There is no reason for us to be behind these varsities as UM and NUS started on equal footing at the same time. As vice-chancellor, I am saddened that we are lagging behind and it is my responsibility to bring UM up," said Prof Tan Sri Dr Ghauth Jasmon.

In conclusion, university rankings still hold validity in ordering institutions of higher education. It is still is a promotional tool for higher education institutions to recruit students; an assessing tool for prospective students and a marketing tool for graduates who have finished from these institutions.

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Written by Lyn Cacha