THE Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) has initiated steps towards ranking Islamic universities in member countries in a move to improve the quality of higher education.

The idea for a ranking system was mooted by Malaysia in 2006 and taken up by the Science Division of the OIC, which is looking into a higher education ranking specifically tailored to the 57 OIC member countries.

Islamic International University (IIU) Rector Professor Datuk Syed Arabi Idid is one of the members of a core group set up to look into the exercise.

Syed Arabi says it is about time Islamic countries had their own higher education ranking system.

"It is designed to help universities cooperate - rather than compete - with each other. The top 20 universities will help the 20 weaker ones in the ranking to enhance their quality."
Currently there is no sufficient data on universities in OIC member countries.

"We don't know about funding mechanisms, facilities, research undertaken or how the universities are managed. There must be comprehensive data on universities in OIC member countries."

He hopes that the move will help universities to improve. However, he admits that the OIC situation is not a simple one.

"It is a complicated process because many governments are involved. We need to convince OIC member countries of the benefit of having their own university rankings."

The exercise is at the data collection stage.

"We are trying to gather relevant information from each country. Many governments in the Islamic world have realised the importance of education as a catalyst for development. Saudi Arabia, for example, allocates a lot of funds to education."

The world political situation has also pushed the need for Islamic universities rankings.

"After 9/11, most parents from Middle Eastern countries are not so keen to send their children to America or other Western countries. But they still want quality education for their children and this is where the Islamic universities rankings will come in useful.

"These parents can choose the best universities taking into account Islamic culture and sensitivities, and at the same time provide good education for their offspring," says Syed Arabi.