Pakistan’s Higher Education: A Glimpse through University Rankings in International

0
34

Pakistan has seen significant changes in its higher education system over the past decades, moving towards increasing the quality level of these universities and various research activities along with international collaborations. Some Pakistani universities have begun to touch global ranking signals, which carry evidence of improvement of academic excellence, quality research, and quality infrastructures. In this article, we discuss the status of Pakistan’s higher education institutes according to the world university rankings.

Pakistani Universities in Global Rankings

The QS World University Rankings 2024 grade academic institutions based on parameters such as reputation of universities for the purpose of academics, employer, student-to-staff ratio, research, and so on. As such, only a handful of Pakistani academic institutions have listed their institutions in the ranking of world universities.

  1. Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad

Quaid-i-Azam University is one of the best-reputed universities of Pakistan, mostly considered to be the top of all Pakistani educational institutions by other global ranking platforms. QAU ranked 701-750 globally in the 2024 QS World University Rankings. It is a good ranking for the higher education sector of Pakistan. The university is known for the powerful research output in fields like physics, chemistry, and biology. Over the years, the academic reputation has improved and is now one of the country’s top-ranked universities.

Link: Quaid-i-Azam University QS Ranking

  1. Lahore University of Management Sciences, LUMS

LUMS is another institution that has significantly improved its performance in the recent years. It has been ranked among the best universities in Pakistan and is showing prominence now in international rankings as well. In the QS World University Rankings 2024, LUMS ranks between 801 and 1000 worldwide. In particular, LUMS is well regarded at the global level regarding business administration, social sciences, and humanities programs besides substantially increasing its research output.

Link: LUMS QS Ranking

  1. Aga Khan University (AKU)

The private higher institution built recognition for the skills of this university located in Karachi and which more or less dedicated itself to medicine and nursing in the discipline of health sciences. Of course, according to global ranking, this does not rank as high, however, it belongs to the ranks of the very best institutions across Pakistan in both healthcare research as well as research in social sciences. It continues to grow from here by becoming more collaborative and increasing international involvement.

Link: Aga Khan University

  1. COMSATS University Islamabad (CUI)

COMSATS is one of the leading public universities in Pakistan, which is based mainly on scientific and technological research. It has been improving its ranking consistently and, according to the QS rankings of 2024, ranks between 801-1000. There is also a growing interest in computer science, engineering, and technology due to full-length research programs and curriculum.

Link: COMSATS University

  1. University of the Punjab (PU)

It is the biggest and one of the oldest university institutes in Pakistan. The university is based in Lahore and runs with a wide variety of programs and degrees offered in sciences, arts, humanities, and social sciences. It’s not ranked among the top universities around the world but has also been instrumental in creating a framework of higher education institutions across Pakistan.

Link: University of the Punjab

Reasons Leading to Recognition Globally

Over the years several factors have facilitated the growth and development of worldwide recognition for higher education institutions at Pakistan:

International Collaboration: Today, most institutions in Pakistan form partnerships with premier international institutions at the research levels, faculty level, and a student exchange process.

  • Research Output: Research has become the most significant activity in most universities. QAU and LUMS are among those institutions that contribute a lot towards research output, which is in the form of research publications. Increasing research activities in science, technology, and social sciences can improve rankings.
  • Faculty Development: Fund in faculty development programs besides involvement of many countries to develop teaching and research skills ensured the improvement of ranking of universities on the global rating scale.
  • Accreditation and Quality Assurance: Since the HEC of Pakistan made efforts to get most of the programs accredited, it supported the system till now based on international criteria established for education.

Challenges Facing Pakistani Universities

Despite being increasingly recognized; Pakistani universities are still facing many challenges:

  • Limited Funding: Public universities in Pakistan, in particular, face limited funding that hampers the development of infrastructure, research funding, and compensation of faculties.
  • Brain Drain: The high-quality Pakistani researchers and faculty members are being absorbed into other better countries abroad, which deters the growth of local universities.
  • Political Instability and Security Concerns: Political instability and security issues hinder the growth of universities, particularly in areas where conflicts have occurred.
  • Outdated Infrastructure: Improvement has been made in this regard, yet there are still a lot of universities that are dealing with outdated infrastructure and lack of modern technological tools, which have negative impacts on the learning experience.

Future Prospect: Outlook

In any event, however much remains to be done before this higher education system in Pakistan comes to some real future, now increasingly more than ever, lots of universities begin to up their scale of their participation in such international ranking systems and competition.

Pakistan Higher Education Commission has also been making efforts to enhance the quality of education through some reforms, by which Pakistani universities will be granted international recognition by the end of the years.

Conclusion:

Pakistan has a very good panorama of higher education, and institutions like Quaid-i-Azam University, LUMS, Aga Khan University, among many others are growing as campuses that shall bring Pakistan ahead in the world rankings. These institutions are slated to progress qualitatively and in outreach and we shall see Pakistani universities breach higher rankings in the future.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here