Pakistani universities need to improve before they can compete globally

In the latest global university rankings released by two international organisations, majority of Pakistan’s varsities could not manage to get among the top-listed institutions. However, the local universities already in the competition were spotted on somewhat better positions. On June 8, the Centre for World University Rankings (CWUR) released their World University Rankings 2020-21 listing 2,000 institutions across the globe. Only 10 Pakistani varsities have found place in the latest rankings.

Four of these 10 universities have improved their positions, one of them is out of the rankings and the remaining institutes have slipped from their previous ranks. The varsities listed by CWUR in the current rankings are Quaid-e- Azam University (QAU) Islamabad, COMSATS University Islamabad, Aga Khan University (AKU) Karachi, University of the Punjab Lahore, University of Agriculture (UAF) Faisalabad, National University of Sciences & Technology (NUST) Islamabad, University of Karachi, University of Peshawar, Bahauddin Zakariya University (BZU) Multan and Government College University Faisalabad (GCUF). Compared to last year’s rankings, QAU has improved its position from 820 to 753, COMSATS from 959 to 871, BZU from 1,858 to 1,853 and GCUF from 2,000 to 1,910. However, AKU has slipped from 852 to 1,042, Punjab University from 1,215 to 1,261, UAF from 1,323 to 1,327, Karachi University from 1,712 to 1,787, Peshawar University from 1,806 to 1,832 and NUST from 1,494 to 1,508, while Pakistan Institute of Engineering & Applied Sciences (PIEAS) Islamabad has made its way to the list. According to the press statement, “CWUR grades universities on seven factors without relying on surveys and university data submissions: quality of teaching, alumni employment, quality of faculty, research output, high-quality publications, influence and citations.” QS rankings The Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings (QSWUR) uses around 11 indicators to compile its rankings, including academic reputation, employer reputation, faculty, student ratio, international research network, citations per paper, papers per faculty and staff with PhDs. In the latest QSWUR, seven Pakistani varsities have been included in the list of total 1,002 institutions: NUST, PIEAS, QAU, Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), COMSATS, University of Engineering & Technology (UET) Lahore and Punjab University. Four of the seven universities have improved their positions, while the remaining three failed to climb up the rankings. Compared to last year’s rankings, NUST is the top institution that has climbed up 45 points to 355 from 400. Similarly, PIEAS has stepped up two points from 375 to 373, while QAU has progressed from 511 to 454. Moreover, LUMS has improved its position from 701 to 651. Among Pakistani varsities, NUST has claimed the first position, which was previously held by PIEAS. However, three universities have failed to improve their positions: COMSATS has retained its position at 801, UET has been spotted on 801 since 2018 and Punjab University has remained on 801 for the past three years.