Saudi Arabia among top risers, Pakistan making 'strong progress' in World University Rankings 2022

ISLAMABAD: Saudi universities are among the fastest rising higher education institutions in the world, said Times Higher Education World University Rankings on Thursday, adding that Pakistan was also making "strong progress" in the area.
Based in the United Kingdom, the publication annually ranks institutions of higher learning based on their performance in several areas.
It mentioned that Saudi Arabia wanted to see at least five of its universities among the top 200 international education institutes under its Vision 2030 program while pointing out that one of the universities in the kingdom had already met the target in the latest survey.
"The average overall score for Saudi Arabian institutions is more than 12 points higher in the 2022 edition of the table, published today, compared with the 2018 edition," Times Higher Education World University Rankings reported, adding: "Malaysia and Pakistan are also making strong progress and almost improving at the same rate as China."
It continued: "Saudi Arabia features in the top 200 of the World University Rankings for the first time this year, with King Abdulaziz University ranking at joint 190th, up from the 201-250 band last year. Meanwhile, five universities in the country make the top 400, up from just two last year."
The publication quoted Manar Sabry, an expert on higher education in the Middle East and North Africa, saying that Saudi gains had followed “decades of policy-driven growth in scientific research and an increase in funding” as well as collaboration with international research partners.
It noted that Pakistan had witnessed an increase in its average citation impact and industry income scores.