Narayan AmmachchiThe University of São Paulo and the State University of Campinas are the best campuses for higher education in Latin America, according to the Latin America University Rankings 2016, compiled by the UK-based Times Higher Education.
Brazilian universities have taken five of the top ten slots, while Colombia has four universities in the ranking. Overall, seven countries are represented in the complete list, adding Mexico, Chile, Costa Rica, Peru and Venezuela to the mix.
Brazil has claimed 23 positions in the 50-strong list, more than any other country, with some analysts attributing this success to ample government funding and a better selection process.
Pontifical Catholic University of Chile and the University of Chile have taken 3rd and 4th places respectively.
Mexico’s Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education and the National Autonomous University of Mexico take 8th and 9th place respectively, while Colombia’s University of the Andes picks up 10th place.
Times Higher Education says it used the same indicators as the World University Rankings, evaluating each institution’s strengths in research, teaching, knowledge transfer and international outlook.
In the past few years, many governments across the region are pressing ahead with some bold plans to expand university access, improve research quality and build links between industry and academia.
Private institutes are also performing better and they are gradually growing in number. According to the report, three-quarters of the 16,000 higher education institutions in Latin America are private, educating more than 50% of its 24 million or so students – the highest proportion of any region in the world.
Interestingly, there is a rise in for-profit providers recently, and they are opening up higher education to millions of poorer students.
Add comment