Times Higher Education Ranking excludes BRUR

BRUR Correspondent :

Begum Rokeya University (BRUR) has once again failed to secure a position in the ‘World University Ranking 2026’ published by the UK-based education magazine, Times Higher Education (THE).

The ranking, released on Thursday, features a total of 28 universities from Bangladesh. Among them, 22 universities are included in the direct ranking, while the remaining six fall under the ‘Reporter’ category.

At the top of the list are Daffodil International University, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Jahangirnagar University, North South University, and University of Dhaka.

Moksedul Momin, a student of the Bengali Department at BRUR, said that one of the most important criteria in the ranking is the teacher-student ratio.

Other indicators such as research, teaching quality, and citations are also largely dependent on this ratio.

He explained that the lower the workload on a teacher, the more time they can devote to research and teaching.

“Unfortunately, according to the UGC report, BRUR has the lowest teacher-student ratio (1:54), whereas universities like JU, NUB, MUB, and KU have ratios close to the ideal standard (1:20-1:22). I believe this ratio is a major barrier behind BRUR’s absence in the international ranking,” he said.

Mursalin Munna, a student of the Mathematics Department, added that insufficient investment in research, limited publications in international journals, lack of foreign faculty and students, and the absence of effective research centres have all contributed to BRUR being left out of the ranking.

“There is now no alternative but to increase research funding, expand international collaboration, and adopt long-term educational planning,” he stressed.

It is worth noting that the Times Higher Education Ranking is prepared based on various criteria including education, research, industry engagement, and internationalisation.

In this year’s edition, over 2,000 universities from 115 countries have been ranked. At the top of the list is Oxford University, UK, which has held the first position for ten consecutive years.