The Ateneo de Manila University topped the list of Philippine schools in the latest Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings.
Entering the 1,001-1,200 bracket, Ateneo is ahead of the University of the Philippines, which is in bracket 1,201-1,500.
With an overall score of 32.1-35.4, Ateneo garnered 27 in teaching, 11.2 in research environment, 64.7 in research quality, 23.8 in industry and 35.6 in international outlook.
UP received an overall score of 27.3-32 after obtaining 27.4 in teaching, 17.9 in research environment, 39 in research quality, 28.9 in industry and 38.6 in international outlook.
The University of Oxford in the United Kingdom retained its number one placement for the 10th consecutive year, with a total score of 98.2.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States placed second, followed by Princeton University in the US and University of Cambridge in the UK, both in the top 3.
Four other Philippine schools joined the list, including De La Salle University, Mapua University, Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology and University of Santo Tomas, all in the 1501+ bracket.
China has five universities in the top 40, up from three last year.
Hong Kong occupied a record six spots in the top 200, while India has the second-highest number of universities ranked for the first time, behind the US.
‘I commend the entire University community for this achievement. It is a recognition of the hard work of students and faculty, researchers, support staff and administrators,’ Ateneo president Fr. Roberto Yap said.
In the QS World University Rankings released in June, Ateneo ranked 511.
Few PhD holders
Only 0.18 percent of 5.4 million degree holders in the Philippines are Doctors of Philosophy, according to the Commission on Higher Education.
At yesterday’s commencement speech before postgraduates of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, CHED Chairperson Shirley Agrupis said education becomes the most decent form of ambition ‘in a country where opportunity is unequal, where merit is too often replaced by connections.’
Advanced learning is pursued to expand a person’s purpose and not to elevate their status, she stressed.
‘At a time when corruption, apathy and indifference still threaten the very soul of governance,’ the country needs leaders who remember that integrity is essential and not optional, Agrupis said.
State officials, contractors and engineers have been implicated in ghost and substandard infrastructure projects nationwide, as well as anomalous budget insertions.