KAU rejects charges of foul play to boost ranking

Academics and professors at King Abdulaziz University (KAU) have denied claims by a US media outlet that it has “bought” researchers to improve its rank in the global index of best-performing universities.
“In the last 10 years, KAU worked on developing its teaching to compete with advanced universities all over the world. However, there are many academic organizations that look down on Saudi universities due to the strong competition between the Arab and Western universities,” Dr. Hamza Shaaban, a professor at the university, said.
“There is no university that pays money to obtain a high rank in the global classification. It is unacceptable,” Shaaban said. A professor at KAU who spoke on the condition of anonymity denied the accusations.
“The university has contracted part-time professors to develop its teaching staff. We work to attract international experts as many global universities do,” he said. The professor said there is ongoing cooperation with several foreign researchers and they are doing genuine work.
He said a university cannot focus on its international ranking without paying attention to the advancement of scientific research on its grounds.
“We should care about what the students do and what we offer them and how academic work is conducted inside the university. This is much more important than international rankings,” he added.