World Ranking of several universities in Sri Lanka declined

As competition in the higher education sector rapidly grows within the Asian region, many leading universities in Sri Lanka have had to face the challenge of maintaining their regional rankings. According to the latest 2027 Asian University Rankings released by QS Quacquarelli Symonds, several prominent universities in the country have fallen to their lowest levels recorded in the past four years.

According to this index, the University of Colombo has dropped 46 places to rank 364, while the Universities of Peradeniya and Sri Jayewardenepura have fallen to ranks 389 and 398 respectively. Overall, 8 out of the 12 Sri Lankan universities ranked this year have seen a decline, and two other universities remain stable without any change.

However, this decline is not merely an internal collapse of the universities but is intertwined with regional growth. As pointed out by QS, a primary reason for the drop in rankings for local universities is the inclusion of nearly 200 new universities from the Asian region in this year's rankings.

Despite this highly competitive environment, it is noteworthy that two local universities have managed to achieve significant progress. The University of Moratuwa has climbed 37 places to secure the 517th position, while the University of Kelaniya has advanced to the 687th position with a success of 44 places.

The decline in the 'Employer Reputation' index, which accounts for a high 20% value in measuring a university's quality, has directly impacted the decline of both the University of Colombo and the University of Sri Jayewardenepura. However, even in the face of this challenge, the University of Colombo has maintained its lead as the highest-ranked university in the country for the fifth consecutive time. Furthermore, by securing the 192nd position, the University of Colombo has also succeeded in becoming the only Sri Lankan university to be among the top 200 in terms of Asian regional employer reputation.

In addition to the emergence of new universities and employer reputation, changes in the ratio of PhD-holding academic staff and student-to-faculty ratios have also significantly impacted this year's results, as further confirmed by this data.