Cambridge and Oxford were ranked the best in Europe but mask a general decline in UK universities
(Picture: PA Archive)The success of British universities could be eclipsed by well-funded Chinese institutions, despite Oxford and Cambridge being ranked the best in Europe, a new university league table suggests.
The Center for World University Rankings (CWUR) warned that the achievements of Oxford and Cambridge mask the “general decline” of UK universities in a league table published on Monday.
In the list of the top 2,000 world universities, only 39 UK institutions improved from last year, seven stayed the same and 48 fell down the standings. Meanwhile, China has seen an “extraordinary rise”, with 96 per cent of its institutions ranking better than last year. This is due to continued investment in higher education, according to the CWUR.
Dr Nadim Mahassen, president of the CWUR, said: “It is a worrying time for UK universities amid stiff competition from well-funded Chinese institutions.
“With international student fees and expenditure of Chinese students worth billions of pounds, this could have serious consequences for UK universities.”
Researchers looked at alumni jobs, academic success of alumni and the number of research articles published.
