The University of the Philippines congratulated Ateneo de Manila University as the Jesuit-run institution outranked UP for the first time on the Times Higher Education World University Rankings.
“UP congratulates the students, faculty, staff and alumni of the Ateneo de Manila University on ADMU’s placing in the 351-400 bracket in the latest Times Higher Education-World University Rankings (THE-WUR),” the UP statement reads.
“Such accomplishments by Philippine HEIs [Higher Educational Institutions] are a net gain for the honor and prestige of the country and an inspiration for all Filipino scholars and academics,” it adds.
From being excluded from the rankings last year, Ateneo landed in the 351-400 bracket, while UP sank to the 801-1000 bracket from last year’s 601-800 bracket.
RELATED: Ateneo overtakes UP as top Philippine university in global ranking
Keen on improving its approaches, the premier state university said it is reviewing indicators and data from the World University Ranking to gain insights for its next steps.
“This latest ranking of UP’s standing among universities worldwide will serve as valuable insight in determining UP’s way forward in its mission to serve the nation through the delivery of the highest level of education to our youth,” it added.
Under the World University Rankings, the institutions are scored based on five pillars such as teaching (30%), research (30%), citations (30%), industry income (7.5%), and international outlook (2.5%).
Lack of government support
Some online users blamed the government’s lack of support as UP slipped further down global university rankings.
“So what actually happened here? Lack of support from the government and CHED. UP is a public university, while ATENEO is not. What will happen to a public university when they lack support from the government during a pandemic? Wait for years and we’ll fall drastically,” a Twitter user posted.
“Why expect more from UP tapos they cut their budget big time all the time naman? Make it make sense,” another wrote.
“Kasi binawasan ng budget ng gobyerno. Tapos gusto nyo nasa top?,” a Facebook user said.
The proposed 2023 budget for the UP System has decreased by almost P2.5 billion based on the National Expenditures Program.
With this proposal, UP Philippine General Hospital will have a P893 million budget cut despite having played a central role during the COVID-19 pandemic of the past two years.
PGH will only receive P5.412 billion next year, according to the proposed 2023 national budget that the Department of Budget and Management submitted to the House of Representatives last August.
READ: UP-PGH posts trivia about health services amid budget cut for 2023
Aside from UP, other state colleges and universities or SUCs also faced budget cuts. Under the proposed national budget, SUCs will only receive P93.08 billion, compared to this year’s P103.97 billion.
This is a P10.89 billion difference, or 10.48% lower than the previous budget.
READ: SUCs, lawmakers push back vs proposed budget cut
Two other Philippine private universities made it into the rankings, De La Salle University and Mapúa University, placed in the 1201-1500 and 1501+ brackets, respectively.
UP has been the only public university in the country that made it into the global ranking.