Opinion: (Joel Adriano)
The Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings recently released its latest global ranking of universities with Oxford University topping the rankings for the 10th consecutive year. The US again has seven of the top 10 led by Massachusetts Institute Technology in second place with the rest of the top 10 from the UK.
With increasing investments in higher education and innovation, universities in Asia Pacific continue to increase in numbers and solidify positions in the rankings. China now has five universities in the top 40, up from three last year, led by Tsinghua University at 12th spot and Peking University now at 13th, up a notch.
South Korea now has a record of four institutions in the top 100 while Hong Kong has six in the top 200, also a record. India now has the second highest number of ranked universities for the first time, behind only the US.
As for Southeast Asian countries, Indonesia now has 35 universities in the rankings, a dramatic rise from just one a decade ago. Similarly, Vietnam, which is virtually unrepresented a decade ago, now has 11 universities in the latest rankings. Thailand’s top university, Chulalongkorn University, broke into the global top 600 for the first time and is showing upward momentum.
Overall, for the region, seven of the top 10 schools in ASEAN are from Malaysia though the top two were occupied by Singapore with Brunei as the other entry in top 10 for the region. National University of Singapore is the top ranked in the region and 17th globally.
Some education experts think that Asian universities will further gain foothold in the rankings especially with the US already showing a steady decline even before the effects of Trump administration’s strong-hand policies on higher education show up in the data.
While the top US schools are holding strong in the top 10, those lower in the list will continue to fall. It still dominates the top 500 with 102 ranked institutions. However, this is the lowest number on record, “and 25 of its institutions – more than any other country – have slumped to their lowest-ever positions.
Philippine schools falling behind
As for poor Philippines, it has six schools in the rankings, all marooned in the 1,000 + rank band. Forget global, the country cannot even compete with its ASEAN peers. Their actual rank has not improved and are losing to institutions climbing in the ranks. And when you consider that only over 2,000 institutions from 115 countries and territories were covered that would mean that the six Philippine schools are in the bottom half of the studied countries.
So, what’s ailing Philippine universities? The main drag is that their research environments and teaching scores lag significantly behind international benchmarks which are critical measurements in the THE methodology. By these measurements, Philippine universities produce limited volume of high-quality research and have very low citation impacts. It has lower scores on international faculty and students, limited global engagement and reputation building.
For instance, on research environment which measures research reputation and funding among others, Malaysia’s UTP/UM have scores in the 43-45 range. In contrast, ADMU/UP are only in the 11-18 range. For research quality, which is mainly a measurement of citation impact and research strength, Malaysia’s UM is at 78.4 compared to UP’s 39. This is an indication that the volume and influence of UP’s published research are relatively low on a global scale.
The decline in the rankings is particularly alarming. Just before the pandemic, Ateneo was previously ranked in the 601-800 band. Since then, it has fallen and stagnated in the 1,001-1,200 band. UP was also previously in the 801-1,000 band but fell to the 1,201-1,500 band and stagnated there.
Basic education in crisis
And the worse is likely yet to come. Like a manufacturing facility, universities are part of the final stage of supply chain, hence the education crisis cannot be solved at the college level alone. Philippine universities are structurally capped by the poor quality of basic education in the country, and which is why it is unlikely to see overall THE scores improving significantly in the years to come.
Data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2022 showed how deep the crisis of Philippine basic education as it placed near last in the global test in Math (76th), Science (78th) and Reading (76th) of the 81 countries studied.
Specifically, in Mathematics, only 16 percent of Filipino students attained the minimum Level 2 proficiency (the OECD average is 69 percent). In science, only 23 percent of Filipino students attained Level 2 proficiency (the OECD average is 76 percent).
The scores showed that Filipino students are performing the equivalent of 5-6 years behind the global average in these core subjects. In fact, Palestinian students scored higher than the Philippines in Math despite their logistical difficulties and security issues which highlights the depth of the policy-driven education crisis and the Philippine government’s failure to address fundamental learning quality.
Further, and of recent occurrence, the frequency of class suspensions is quite appalling. While a lot of it are based on legitimate reasons especially due to typhoons and flooding, however, quite a number are just arbitrary decisions without scientific reason. Even more concerning is that none of those in-charge seem to take this problem seriously and find solutions to seriously make up for the lost days despite the massive advancement and availability of technology.
What is clear is that the chronic disruptions directly erode instructional time, compromise the quality of graduates and further suppress school performance and which will likely contribute even more to the country’s poor performance in international assessments like PISA.
According to a study by the Second Congressional Commission on Education (Edcom 2), the Philippines loses about 53 teaching days in a school year where classes are just between 180-200 days. So that’s over one-fourth of the school calendar.
Studies have shown that these frequent class suspensions resulted in a 12-14 percent decline in Math and Science grades among younger students, a foundational deficiency that is hard overcome.
Ironically, despite these declining international rankings and global educational standings, private schools like Ateneo and De La Salle, continue to increase and charge tuition fees that only middle class and affluent families can afford.
This highlights the disconnect between local market value and the global academic performance mainly because tuition fees are driven by the domestic market dynamics where these institutions have excellent local rankings. Most especially, there is perceived value in elite brands and that the country’s affluent are willing to pay a premium for powerful alumni networks, strong local employer recognition or simply for prestige.
However, sooner or later, the failing international rankings will force an undeniable reckoning with policy failure as the declining quality of graduates cripple domestic competitiveness, compromising the country’s ability to attract top quality investments. Worse, the devaluation of Philippine degrees will potentially strip off the opportunities of Filipinos whose option left is to seek greener pastures abroad.
Threat to OFW pipedream
The decline in the rankings is more than an academic embarrassment. The true cost of this educational stagnation will impact on future opportunities of Filipino workers and the country’s overall economy.
The fear is that the deteriorating educational outcomes could signal the slow erosion of Filipino workers’ competitive advantage. The decline in educational quality will directly compromise the survival of Filipino families and remaining economic lifeline of the country, the overseas Filipino workers (OFW).
For decades, the Philippine government has celebrated the overseas workers as modern-day heroes. The reality though, working overseas for many is not a choice, but a strategy for survival. And this is reflection more of the government’s failing its people particularly to provide local quality-employment.
Worse, with the current policies and educational outcomes trajectory, the Philippines will face a future crisis where its degrees are devalued abroad and its graduates out-competed even by its ASEAN peers, threatening the remaining economic salvation of the desperate Filipino families.
