An Air New Zealand Plane Flies Over Mount Victoria
IN PHOTO: An Air New Zealand plane flies over houses in Mount Victoria as it approaches Wellington airport, October 7, 2011. Reuters/Marcos Brindicci

New Zealand universities are still recognised as among the top 3 percent of the world's leading universities. According to the Times Higher Education, or THE, rankings for 2014, New Zealand has five universities included in the top 400 with the University of Auckland included in the top 200 list.

The THE World University Rankings are based on key indicators including teaching and learning environment, quality of research, volume and influence of research, research income and ratio of international staff and students. Based on the results, three of New Zealand's top universities fell in the rankings that reflect the need for government to offer more support to the country's educational system.

Waikato University and Otago University dropped from the rankings, while Victoria University and Canterbury University maintained their rankings from last year. Professor Harlene Hayne, University of Otago's vice chancellor, said the world university rankings reflect the competitiveness of the global marketplace. He explained many countries would want the distinction of having their own universities labelled as "world-class."

University rankings have become increasingly important in the last decade, said Hayne. International academic staff usually use the rankings list as a reference when choosing to where to apply for jobs or study. Reports said many universities will only work with universities recognised in the prestigious world rankings. Some governments also provide scholarships to highly ranked international universities.

New Zealand's top universities have always been included in the international rankings for offering quality education and research opportunities. Hayne said the downward trend signals the need for the government to support New Zealand universities. He revealed the government funding per student has declined in the past 20 years.

In Australia, the University of Adelaide rose to 164th from below the 200th place in 2013 following University of Western Australia at 157th place. A total of eight Australian universities are in the top 200. Based on the results, Asian universities have noticeably improved their rankings from last year. Australia's Education Minister Christopher Pyne said the rise of Asian universities demonstrated a clear need for reform in the country's higher education system, reports Australian Financial Review.

According to the editor of THE's world university rankings, officials should look into the option of deregulating tuition fees to help all universities or reinforce the prestigious eight Australian universities. These universities are capable of charging higher fees.

The University of Melbourne, widely known as the best university in Australia, is the top local institution in 33rd place in overall rankings followed by Australian National University at 45th place. The University of Sydney was listed at no. 60, Monash University at 83 and University of NSW at 109.