HKU drops over 20 places in Times Higher Education world league table
The prestigious University of Hong Kong has dramatically fallen more than 20 places over the past four years on a list ranking the world's top 200 universities.
The University of Hong Kong has fallen more than 20 places over the past four years on a list ranking the world's top 200 universities.
Once ranked the best university in Asia, HKU dropped to fourth in the region - losing out to institutions in Japan, Singapore and Australia, according to this year's World University Rankings released today by Times Higher Education.
The news comes a day after the South China Morning Post published an interview with University of Science and Technology (HKUST) president Tony Chan Fan-cheong, in which he warned local universities that they faced growing competition and needed to fight for more cash and support from business, saying: "We have to keep running to stay in place."
Although it is still Hong Kong's best performer, the 102-year-old HKU now stands at 43 in the world, down from 21 just four years ago when the rankings were inaugurated.
Phil Baty, editor of the survey, described the university's fall as "significant".
However, Baty said that the change was not so much a result of HKU suffering a decline in its standards, but the fact that the university's competitors had outpaced it.
"It's more of a case of it standing still," said Baty.