Mind the gap.

The latest Times University Rankings 2013 is now out. Once more the US tops the charts, but the UK is also doing relatively well, despite a drop by universities outside the magic-triangle of Oxford, Cambridge and London. The two oldest places of learning are in the the top ten plus Imperial College. University College, London School of Economics and King's College being the best of the bunch outside this group. However universities not part of the magic-triangle have slipped down the rankings. Why? It could be to do with finding, but also other countries have raised their game, and are rapidly closing the educational gap. The Far East is placing much more emphasis on higher education, especially in China and Singapore. They see a direct correlation between high investment and improved living standards for its citizens. Unfortunately with the recession now in the UK, US and the rest of the Euro-zone there is pressure on balancing the budgets. George Osborne at the Conservative Party conference this week, predicted a squeeze over many years to come on all spending departments. So its possible in a few years there will be an even wider gap.