Actually, I came from one of those 4. Pero ang rep nila pati na din ang basis for the world rankings, IMHO, ay may problema. Sakit na ata ng education sa mundo yan.

Unahin ko ang sa world rankings -- AFAIK, ang mga kasamang criteria diyan aside from physical facilities ay AREA of operations. Ang isa pa ay # of published papers ng mga faculty. Ang problema ko lang dun -- parang wala namang masyadong kinalaman yun sa pagtuturo! Yung una, ibig sabihin ay malaki ang floor space -- ni hindi ko makita ang connection sa education. Yung pangalawa, ibig sabihin prolific ang faculty mo sumulat ng papers. Wala namang sinabi kung gaano ka-importante yung mga papers na yun o kung nai-tuturo ng mahusay yung topics (kung mahusay man yung sumusulat) -- basta dami ng papers lang. Eh puro may sariling printing presses yung mga yun eh.

But my biggest beef is the most basic one. One of the top criteria for ANY ranking is a school's selectivity. In other words, if you only accept geniuses, then you are the best school. My beef with that is three-fold. First, there really are NOT that many geniuses to go around anywhere! So what kind of impact could being exclusive make in practice to the general populace? Leaders? Bah -- there's much more to leadership than intelligence.

Second, in acuality, gifted kids hardly need the resources and facilities those 4 have. Even if you leave those kids with an average but dedicated mentor, gagaling yang mga yan simply because by definition, they have the ability to learn by themselves given the slightest direction. Do they know it? No, but they will.

Third, the basis for a scheme like this is akin to making an already efficient engine even more efficient. Matalino na 'yung studyante mo, dadagdagan mo lang ng KONTING learning, presto -- a top 4 school.

IMHO, the solution to the education of the world is to focus not on being a TOP school but on being a school able to impart the MOST knowledge. Di ba mas magaling na school yung makakapagpatalino maraming below-average na tao kesa doon sa makakadagdag lang ng 5 points sa IQ ng isang genyo?

At hindi ba mas maraming makikinabang at mas malaki ang idedevelop ng bansa natin kung imbes na magpadala tayo ng 10 genyo sa abroad (na hindi naman lahat ay magbabayad ng buwis), ay gawin nating employable ang libo-libong 'stand-by' sa kanto?

In this regard, lesser-known schools who provide the MOST content for less money should have a higher ranking than those 4. It's a paradigm shift, sure -- MOST rather than TOP. But it's about time!

I know all schools put in much effort to develop loyalty. But my beef is not with any particular school nor with any specific issues IN those schools. As I mentioned, I'm from one of them and what I'm advocating is a paradigm shift. But I think it's time to open our eyes to new horizons if we're to progress further.

Peace!