Failure to make top 30 list ‘alarming’ in light of government decision to slash $2.3bn from university sector Australia no longer has a representative among the top 30 universities worldwide, as the Times Higher Education rankings for the year showed the country’s institutions slipping down the list. The country’s top-ranking university, the University of Melbourne, dropped to 34 from 28 last year. The University of Adelaide dropped out of the top 200 altogether, while the Australian National University dropped from 37 to 48. The University of Queensland increased its ranking from 65 to 63 and Monash University rose from 99 to 91. When asked what factors he thought contributed to the overall drop for Australia, the education minister, Christopher Pyne, refused to comment. “As minister for education, I don’t intend to become a commentator on the various university rankings. I’ll leave that for others,” he said. Pyne has previously said the quality of university education in Australia is slipping and offered a return to capping the number of students as a solution. The rankings take into account teaching and research initiatives as well students’ marks. The Times Higher Education rankings editor, Phil Baty, said the results were “alarming” for Australia because of $2.3bn worth of proposed cuts to the sector announced by the former prime minister Julia Gillard. The cuts are yet to pass parliament but the Coalition has signalled it will go through with them, though it is unclear what the money will be used for. Gillard proposed the cuts to pay for Gonski school funding. Source: Education News