News that the Taliban have “..banned women from universities in Afghanistan” has been condemned by the UN Security Council and many other countries. US Secretary of State, Antony J. Blinken said, “The Taliban cannot expect to be a legitimate member of the international community until they respect the rights of all in Afghanistan.” We wait to see whether the board of Times Higher Education (THE) makes a statement1 or chooses to impose any prohibition on Afghan universities in its rankings.
It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World2
Bologna Topco Ltd, the parent company of THE World Universities Insights Ltd, Data HE Ltd, The Knowledge Partnership and BMI Global Ed Ltd does not have a single female director. This lack of diversity was noted as far back as May 2021 following a presentation by owners Inflexion Private Equity but nearly two years later it’s the same names and faces in charge. Any action could come down to whether two men who have quietly become among the most powerful and influential in higher education think there is a duty to stand up for the rights of women.
THE World Universities Insights Ltd is the parent company’s main trading entity and has two directors – Paul Howarth and Paul Ransley (who also sit as directors on Bologna Topco). Since 2020 it has been the vehicle for purchasing data analytics company dataHE, student recruitment event operator BMI Global Ed, HE consultancy The Knowledge Partnership – with each company purchased having the same two directors. Adding the purchase of InsideHE in early 2022 has, arguably, given Howarth and Ransley unprecedented power to form opinion and control data in global higher education3.
Some will claim there is editorial independence but Howarth’s statement about a response to the “invasion of Ukraine by Russia” shows the symbiotic link between the rankings, the news outlet and the other businesses. InsideHE has run two THE led opinion pieces (28 April and 12 October) on rankings since being acquired earlier this year which might suggest the penumbra of Rupert Murdoch style influence. It’s an intricate web so it is appropriate to suggest that, “with great power comes great responsibility” and the THE should both speak up and act.
What’s Up?4
The THE methodology clearly “reserves the right to exclude universities that ….are no longer in good standing.” Regrettably, decision makers at THE obviously do not think that Russian institutions explicitly supporting a brutal, rapacious, illegal attack on a neighbouring country is grounds for losing “good standing”. One might hope that the complete exclusion of women from higher education presents good grounds for immediate action.
While no Afghan universities have made it to the World University Rankings 2023 the Impact Rankings provide fertile ground for manipulation as institutions can choose which of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to focus on. Bakhtar University and Kabul Polytechnic University rank with around 650 other universities on a ranking of 1001+ in the most recent Impact Rankings with other Afghan universities featuring in 2020 and 2021. One of the four scoring categories for Bakhtar University is the individual SDG measure 5 – Gender Equality, which the THE notes, “SDG itself phrases…explicitly as supporting women”.
The need for an intentional and purposeful ban is urgent because the data used in compiling the rankings are substantially self-selected by the institution and up to two years out of date. For example, the April 2022 Impact Rankings were, at best, using data from December 2020 but it may have come from January 2019. Universities also choose which three SDGs to provide information for (with only SDG 17 obligatory) which is probably why no Russian universities chose SDG 16 – Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions for their 2022 entries.
Laugh It Off5
We may be best not to hold our breath on the THE standing up for women’s rights. One part of the reasoning from Paul Howarth, chief executive, not to exclude Russian universities from THE rankings was that, “we would expect Russian universities’ performance to be impacted negatively by the actions of the Russian government.” Those who understand the ranking considered that statement to be dubious, detached and likely ill-founded at the time and they have been proved correct.
More Russian universities were featured in the latest THE World Rankings 2023 (103) than the equivalent for 2022 (100) with more in the top 800 (14) than the year before (12). While the top university, Lomonosov State University dropped by five places the chart below shows that year on year it did much better than several non-Russian institutions with similar ranking in 2022. The overall volatility shows the complete nonsense of the university rankings but also the vacuousness of the chief executive’s stated expectation.
| University | THE World Ranking 2022 | THE World Ranking 2023 | Year on Year Rise(+)/Decline(-) |
| Wuhan | 157 | 173 | -16 |
| Aberdeen | 158 | 192 | -34 |
| Colorado Boulder | 158 | 148 | +10 |
| Lomonosov | 158 | 163 | -5 |
| Catholique de Louvain | 162 | 170 | -8 |
| Durham | 162 | 198 | -36 |
| Ottawa | 162 | 137 | +25 |
| SUSTech | 162 | 166 | -4 |
The publicity value for Russia is even greater in the THE Impact Rankings where the number of Russian universities listed increased by 25.3% from 75 in 2021 to 94 in 2022. In the latest THE Reputation Rankings the number of Russian university also increased, year on year, from five to six with the top ranked institution rising from 38 to 35. By any objective measure the THE Rankings appears to continue to reward Russian universities and the Russian government that supports them as a tool for credibility and prestige.
Which Side Are You On?6
University ranking businesses like THE and QS World University Rankings and service providers like Study Portals seem willing to continue promoting universities that accept or even actively support repressive regimes. While other commercial businesses have taken direct financial hits from withdrawing their involvement in Russia the rankers and recruiters continue to promote them even at the possible expense of students being drawn into the armed conflict. The rankers may prefer to prevaricate or to ignore Russia’s actions but drawing a line in the sand over something as fundamental as women being allowed to study in higher education should be a simple decision.
Notes
The home page of the viewfromabridge blog includes a quote from a DACA recipient. The full quote is, “Speak because it’s your life, speak because you can”, which should remind everyone who has the freedom to comment that they should speak up for those who are repressed, endangered or unable to represent themselves. If you have the power you should also take action on their behalf.
The sub-headings are all titles from songs written wholly or mainly by women.
- As far as I can find in a search the Times Higher Education has published one news item by Pola Lem on this issue (21 December). No Opinion Piece has been published or statement made by the organization.
- Betty Jean Newsome was co-writer of this song, made famous by co-writer James Brown, and is credited with the lyrics by most sources. For all the macho posturing it’s worth listening to the end of the song “He’s lost in the wilderness, He’s lost in bitterness, he’s lost lost”
- In addition to the direct control listed Times Higher Education has partnerships with companies including Study Portals (student aggregator), SI-UK (student recruiter), Liberika (student aggregator) and Casita (student accommodation provider). A previous blog has noted the role of Study Portals in encouraging students visiting THE Student to apply to universities in Russia.
- Performed by 4 Non Blondes and written by lead singer, Linda Perry. On the backstorysong.com podcast she comments on the song, “It’s like, ‘Why does it always seem like either I’m struggling, or there’s some f–king political mess happening? Why is this all happening in the world?’’ Under some circumstances who wouldn’t “pray every single day, for revolution”?
- Laugh It Off is by Russian feminist protest and performance art group Pussy Riot. It is reported that Pussy Riot are currently touring Europe and demonstrating solidarity with Ukraine. Readers will make up their own mind about the group’s philosophy, tactics and messages but it is difficult to disregard their commitment and their bravery in challenging a “political system that uses its power against basic human rights.”
- “Which Side Are You On?” is always a good question. The song was written in the 1930s by Florence Reece in response to intimidation by the Harlan County Coal Operators’ Association and the sheriff’s department, led by Sheriff J.H. Blair, who acted as its enforcers. Sometimes you have to make a choice.
Image by Dimitris Vetsikas from Pixabay
The image is of a statue in Parliament Square, London, which honours the British suffragist leader and social campaigner, Dame Millicent Fawcett. The statue, erected in 2018, was Parliament Square’s first monument to a woman and also its first sculpture by a woman.