PUTRAJAYA: International university rankings have never been a priority for the Education Ministry, says Dr Maszlee Malik.
The Education Minister said the ministry’s priority is on creating an intellectual ecosystem for the country.
"We don't and have never prioritised rankings since the day I took office.
"For me, the substance of the university is of utmost importance. Our aim is to create an intelligent ecosystem.
"In order for that, we want our universities to become problem solvers of issues faced by society and the nation," he said during a special press conference on the announcement of the Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings (QS-WUR) 2020, here, today.
The minister, however, also noted that such rankings help efforts to get international students to enrol in Malaysian universities.
"Rankings are not really what we are celebrating, but it is good in getting international students to come (to Malaysia to study).
"Normally, international students, especially from developed nations would look at the rankings before coming to Malaysia," he added.
He said the government is on the right track in preparing higher education institutions to step up their quality, as the move towards the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) looms near.
"This also indirectly puts Malaysia as one of the higher education hubs in the region and an education destination to further one’s studies.
"All universities should have the ability to produce multi-talented graduates who are future-proof, resilient and can adapt to changes," he said.
University of Malaya (UM) has been ranked 70th in the QS-WUR 2020, climbing 17 spots from last year’s placing.
Four other public universities also scored higher rankings than last year; Universiti Putra Malaysia (159th place from 202th), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (160th from 184th), Universiti Sains Malaysia (165th from 207th), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (217th from 228th).
Fifteen other universities (public and private) also made it to the top 1000 place.
They are UCSI University, Universiti Teknologi Petronas (Petronas), Taylor's University, Management and Science University Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) and International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM).
University Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP), Sunway University, Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP), Multimedia University (MMU) and Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) also made it to the list.
Others were Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN),Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR),University of Malaysia Sabah (UMS) and Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM).