With a population of 1.3 billion and an economic “miracle” giving it the financial muscle it has lacked in the past, China is already a major world player in higher education. But although it has more than 2,000 higher education institutions, only nine made it into the top 200 in the 2008 Times Higher Education-QS World University Rankings. This is one fewer than 2007, and of these, five slipped down the table and four moved up. So while China remains well represented in the top 200, it is a long way from challenging the dominance of the US and UK.

Over the past decade, China has taken huge strides to strengthen its university sector. The UK Higher Education International Unit says China has more than 21 million students and that 13 percent of total government spending goes into education.

Christine Ennew, pro vice-chancellor (international) at the University of Nottingham which has a campus in China, says there is “no doubt” that the country’s higher education is on an upward trajectory. “I’m confident that the sector is actually much better than the rankings suggest, but I suspect there is a substantial legacy from China’s disengagement with academic networks across the rest of the world. Although we’ve seen 20 to 30 years of opening up and reform there, re-engaging with a global academic community takes a lot longer,” she says.

William Mitchell, director of education at the British Council in China, says that Hong Kong institutions “have punched above their weight for some time”. But China has more recently been building up its institutions on the mainland. “There has been an explicit focus on prioritising funding for the best universities.”

While the variety of disciplines offered by Chinese universities has grown, the focus remains on science and technology. One modernisation programme made $20 billion (Rs.100,000 crore) available to 100 select institutions, mainly for engineering, technological and natural sciences. Another funnelled funding for international activity with the aim of developing a handful of world-class research universities.

But Dr. Mitchell says China struggles to lure expertise from overseas: “There’s a real push through scholarship programmes to get Ph D students to spend time at top universities overseas to build capacity back in China (on their return).”

Professor Ennew believes the competition from China at the top of league tables will increase, warning that it could start to rival the dominance of the UK and US. However, Dr. Mitchell is less sanguine. “There has been a very rapid expansion of student numbers and… questions have been asked about… whether there is the right balance of spending between infrastructure and staff,” he says.

(Excerpted and adapted from Times Higher Education Supplement)