Malaysian universities fail to make it into the Asian Top 100
In stark contrast to Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s statement in 2012 that Malaysian education was one of the best in the world, no Malaysian university has made it into the top 100 of the Times Higher Education Asian University Rankings 2014, let alone global rankings.
The list, which was released yesterday, saw the University of Tokyo claiming the top spot in Asia, followed by the National University of Singapore.
The University of Hong Kong, South Korea’s Seoul National University and China’s Peking University emerged third, fourth and fifth respectively.
Two Thai universities — King Mongkut’s University of Technology, Thonburi, and Mahidol University — also made the list, along with 10 Indian institutions and a number of universities from the Middle East.
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) did not make the list despite being ranked 87th last year.
Malaysia was also absent from the Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings in March, losing out to other Southeast Asian countries.
Commenting on the issue, a UKM source said Malaysia universities missed the boat because there were no funds for scholarly research.
“We have to generate our own income because Malaysia is usually unsuccessful in getting grants from local and foreign investors,” he said.
He said there was a prejudice against local scholars, whereby the government and the public would rather entrust research to foreigners.
“We are not trusted by our own people when we actually have local world-class scholars and talent who can do a better job, given their homegrown expertise,” he said.
He said an example was when the Education Ministry employed a foreign scholar to revamp the National Education Blueprint, who had received the credit even when all data and facts had been provided by local scholars.
Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) mass communication lecturer Assoc Prof Mohamad Md Yusoff said the nation lacked a critical mass of scholars.
“Many of our scholars have gone to Ivy League universities and such around the world. They would rather conduct research abroad than here,” he said.
“This is because of our unconvincing corporate culture. The accredited do not receive their just respect and funds to conduct research.”
Mohamad said local scholars needed to be appreciated instead of taken for granted.
He said this would encourage scholars to return and help improve the country through their respective fields of expertise.
In stark contrast to Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s statement in 2012 that Malaysian education was one of the best in the world, no Malaysian university has made it into the top 100 of the Times Higher Education Asian University Rankings 2014, let alone global rankings. The list, which was released yesterday, saw the University of Tokyo claiming the top spot in Asia, followed by the National University of Singapore. The University of Hong Kong, South Korea’s Seoul National University and China’s Peking University emerged third, fourth and fifth respectively. Two Thai universities — King Mongkut’s University of Technology,...
In stark contrast to Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s statement in 2012 that Malaysian education was one of the best in the world, no Malaysian university has made it into the top 100 of the Times Higher Education Asian University Rankings 2014, let alone global rankings.
The list, which was released yesterday, saw the University of Tokyo claiming the top spot in Asia, followed by the National University of Singapore.
The University of Hong Kong, South Korea’s Seoul National University and China’s Peking University emerged third, fourth and fifth respectively.
Two Thai universities — King Mongkut’s University of Technology, Thonburi, and Mahidol University — also made the list, along with 10 Indian institutions and a number of universities from the Middle East.
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) did not make the list despite being ranked 87th last year.
Malaysia was also absent from the Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings in March, losing out to other Southeast Asian countries.
Commenting on the issue, a UKM source said Malaysia universities missed the boat because there were no funds for scholarly research.
“We have to generate our own income because Malaysia is usually unsuccessful in getting grants from local and foreign investors,” he said.
He said there was a prejudice against local scholars, whereby the government and the public would rather entrust research to foreigners.
“We are not trusted by our own people when we actually have local world-class scholars and talent who can do a better job, given their homegrown expertise,” he said.
He said an example was when the Education Ministry employed a foreign scholar to revamp the National Education Blueprint, who had received the credit even when all data and facts had been provided by local scholars.
Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) mass communication lecturer Assoc Prof Mohamad Md Yusoff said the nation lacked a critical mass of scholars.
“Many of our scholars have gone to Ivy League universities and such around the world. They would rather conduct research abroad than here,” he said.
“This is because of our unconvincing corporate culture. The accredited do not receive their just respect and funds to conduct research.”
Mohamad said local scholars needed to be appreciated instead of taken for granted.
He said this would encourage scholars to return and help improve the country through their respective fields of expertise.
