Poor QS World University Rankings of BD institutions

The Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings for the year 2027 released on June 18 last once again presents a poor showing by the universities---public or private--- in Bangladesh. As usual the University of Dhaka (DU) is leading the pack with its ranking exactly at 600th spot shared by another six universities of different countries. It is a drop from the 584th position it held in the immediately previous edition of this prestigious ranking. But considering the 554th rank, the highest ever the DU scaled in 2025, the decline is steeper and, therefore, highly concerning. It is graver than the cold statistics show. 

Not only the DU, other highest seats of learning in this country also experience slides in their ranking far below in this latest edition of evaluation of higher studies. While six Indian institutions found their place within the 100-200 band with the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi ranked highest at 118th, Pakistan trailed with two of its universities ranking at 381st and 384th and two other universities capturing slots at 560th and 588th well ahead of the DU. 

In comparison, the East Asian, Chinese and even Middle East countries' universities are surging ahead at a faster pace. A few of the East Asian universities have long been finding themselves in the top tier of global institutions. For example, the National University of Singapore (NUS) is placed 10th this time with the University of Hong Kong following at 11th position. Seven universities of the region are placed among the top 50 global universities. The Seoul National University of South Korea (SNU) and the Universiti Malaya (UM) of Malaysia do not lag far behind at 55th and 65th positions respectively. 

Clearly, among the universities in the region, including Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong stand out for their entries into the top tier. But the surging momentum is more visible for the universities located in mainland China. That country achieved an enviable feat of recording the largest number of new entrants globally with 29 institutions moving up more than 20 places.

Now where do universities in Bangladesh falter whereas its South Asian neighbours and East Asian countries burst forth into the elite league? Based on four key pillars---research, teaching, employability and internationalisation --- the QS evaluation is made. A framework across nine distinct performance indicators is taken into consideration for calculation of overall scores and ranks. The nine metrics used to evaluate institutions are divided into three broader performance criteria: research, employability and global engagement. 

The indicators and their respective weightings are presented in the following order:

1) Research and discovery with 50 per cent of the total score with a break of 30 per cent for academic reputation and citation per faculty with a score of 20 per cent. Involved here are global academic perceptions of teaching and research quality. As for the citation per faculty, assessment of research impact is made by evaluating the total number of citations per faculty member. 

2) Employability and Outcomes carrying a total score of 20 per cent divided into employer reputation marking 15 per cent and employment outcomes five per cent. It takes into account the opinions of graduate employers all across the world to identify 'which institutions produce the most employable, innovative and effective graduates'. It further measures graduate employability rates to see which alumni are leaders in their fields. 

3) Learning experience has a score of 10 per cent. This focuses on faculty-student ratio with access to lecturers and tutors. The ratio of teacher-student is taken into account.

4) Global engagement with a score of 15 per cent is assessed on the basis of the strength of international research network a university maintains. Collaboration and partnership are measured to identify the richness and diversity of international partnership. Five per cent score is allocated for such engagements. Proportion of international faculty members on campus matters here and five per cent score is set aside for this. Similarly, the proportion of international students is taken into account to measure an institution's appeal and diversity on its campus. This also carries a five per cent score.

5) Sustainability with a score of five per cent completes the evaluation. An institution's environmental and social impacts are put under the scanner to assess the relevance of higher studies.   

In this context, the news that there is no allocation for independent research by the University of Dhaka from the University Grants Commission (UGC) for the first time is disquieting enough. The university's budget was approved on Tuesday last. If the premier university of the country loses its independence to take up research programmes, the research environment of other universities can be gauged easily. 

Research and innovation were never a strong point of the highest seats of learning here. This latest move by the UGC to make decision on DU's research programmes will exacerbate the situation. Whereas heavy investments in research and technological exploration are a pressing demand of the time, this retrogressive move will push the university further down the rank. The QS metrics clearly show the shortcomings of Bangladesh universities in developing its internal research facilities and international network. If the faculties cannot inspire teachers and students to explore the areas of their interests with the UGC deciding the programmes, the prospect of staying in the competition to improve global ranking will suffer further reversals. This should not be allowed to happen in the interests of quality higher education. 

nilratanhalder2000@yahoo.com