The nation’s slowing investment in higher education is the main reason behind Taiwanese universities’ sliding performances in international rankings, Minister of Education Wu Se-hwa (吳思華) said yesterday.
Wu made the remark in response to a ranking of international universities published by UK newspaper the Times.
The list shows National Taiwan University’s (NTU) ranking fell to a record low of 167th from 155th last year.
Wu said that in an age when countries around the world have upped the ante for their universities, the capital that went into Taiwan’s higher education system had remained largely unchanged, resulting in a lack of educational and research resources for universities, which puts them at a disadvantage.
He said that higher education institutions are unlikely to see budget increases in the foreseeable future, and society at large should engage in other means of tertiary investment.
Meanwhile, National Taiwan University president Yang Pan-chyr (楊泮池) called on the public not to jump to conclusions based on one ranking.
Yang said that since grading criteria used by each list is different, the NTU’s ranking will vary, adding that the school’s lower placing also has to do with the larger pool of schools rated by the Times, which expanded from about 400 last year to 800.
He said the decline in NTU’s ranking is also partly attributable to the list’s inclusion of research funds invested by the business sector in its grading criteria.
As the nation’s laws impose many restrictions on collaborative research, it puts Taiwanese universities at a disadvantage, Yang said.
He said that while NTU has made some improvements, some international universities have advanced more, adding that NTU will continue to make progress.
According to this year’s ranking, the National University of Singapore (26th) has edged the University of Tokyo (43th) out of the top 30 to become the best university in Asia.
The University of Tokyo is down 20 slots compared with last year’s results.
The California Institute of Technology in the US topped the list for the fifth consecutive year. The school has dominated the rankings since it edged Harvard University, ranking 6th this year, out of the No. 1 slot in 2011.
The UK’s University of Oxford and the US’ Stanford University took the second and third place on the list respectively.
POLAM KOPITIAM CASE: Of the two people still in hospital, one has undergone a liver transplant and is improving, while the other is being evaluated for a liver transplant A fourth person has died from bongkrek acid poisoning linked to the Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday, as two other people remain seriously ill in hospital. The first death was reported on March 24. The man had been 39 years old and had eaten at the restaurant on March 22. As more cases of suspected food poisoning involving people who had eaten at the restaurant were reported by hospitals on March 26, the ministry and the Taipei Department of Health launched an investigation. The Food and
The long-awaited Taichung aquarium is expected to open next year after more than a decade of development. The building in Cingshui District (清水) is to feature a large ocean aquarium on the first floor, coral display area on the second floor, a jellyfish tank and Dajia River (大甲溪) basin display on the third, a river estuary display and restaurant on the fourth, and a cafe and garden on the fifth. As it is near Wuci Fishing Port (梧棲漁港), many are expecting the opening of the aquarium to bring more tourism to the harbor. Speaking at the city council on Monday, Taichung City Councilor
A fourth person has died in a food poisoning outbreak linked to the Xinyi (信義) branch of Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in Taipei, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said on Monday. It was the second fatality in three days, after another was announced on Saturday. The 40-year-old woman experienced multiple organ failure in the early hours on Monday, and the family decided not to undergo emergency resuscitation, Wang said. She initially showed signs of improvement after seeking medical treatment for nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, but her condition worsened due to an infection, he said. Two others who
Taiwanese should be mindful when visiting China, as Beijing in July is likely to tighten the implementation of policies on national security following the introduction of two regulations, a researcher said on Saturday. China on Friday unveiled the regulations governing the law enforcement and judicial activities of national security agencies. They would help crack down on “illegal” and “criminal” activities that Beijing considers to be endangering national security, according to reports by China’s state media. The definition of what constitutes a national security threat in China is vague, Taiwan Thinktank researcher Wu Se-chih (吳瑟致) said. The two procedural regulations are to provide Chinese