As a set back to the education sector, all universities in New Zealand have seen a drop in their ranking, in the annual QS World University Rankings. The only exception is Lincoln University which made it to the list for the first time. The drop in ranking has led to a call for the Government to invest more in New Zealand's universities.

The QS World University Rankings are annual university rankings published by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS). Released on Tuesday, it compared 800 universities across 76 countries. Published annually since 2004, QS World University Rankings is considered one of the most trusted university ranking worldwide.

The top 10 slot in the ranking were dominated by institutions from the United States and United Kingdom. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Harvard University and the University of Cambridge notched the top three ranks respectively.

From New Zealand, the University of Auckland was the highest rated institution, ranking 94, which is a drop from 82 it scored, last year. The University of Auckland, was followed by the University of Otago ranked 155, down from 133 it secured the previous year. The University of Canterbury dropped from 221 last year to 238 this year, and Victoria University of Wellington dropped from 237 to 265 this year. The other New Zealand universities which saw a drop in their ranking include Massey University, the University of Waikato, Auckland University of Technology.

Meanwhile the only respite has been Lincoln University, which made it to the list for the first time. In the measure of faculty, the University of Auckland secured the highest rankings among universities of New Zealand. It ranked 69 for Arts and Humanities, 78 for Life Sciences and Medicine, 89 for Engineering and Technology, 151 for Natural Sciences and 58 for Social Sciences and Management.

"The Government has a goal of doubling the number of international students and the revenues that New Zealand generates from that export education industry. But it simply isn't going to achieve that if we're in a situation where the rankings of the universities continue to decline," Professor Stuart McCutcheon, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Auckland as quoted in media reports, as saying.

"What we seem to have tried to do in this country is have low student fees, low levels of Government investment, low levels of research funding nationally and high numbers of students in universities," he said. "We have to decide in this country whether we want cheap universities or whether we want highly ranked universities, because I think it's very clear ... you can't have both."

Typically, the more you invest in a university the more it will be able to spend per student and the higher it will be ranked, Prof. McCutcheon added. Reports quoting, Ben Sowter, Head of Research at QS, said, New Zealand's universities had collectively seen a drop in academic reputation, faculty student ratio and international students in this year's results.

The results revealed that average undergraduate tuition fees at the top 10 universities were up to a record high of around US$ 34,000 per year, nearly double the 2007 average of US$ 18,500, reports said. "Austerity measures in the wake of the recession had contributed to an "affordability crisis" for students at leading international institutions," Sowter added

"With tuition fee hikes and student debt becoming a growing concern for both students and the New Zealand Government, the decline in affordable publicly funded education means many students risk being priced out of a world-class education," he said.

Top 10 Institutions in QS World University Rankings -

1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), United States

2. Harvard University, United States

3. University of Cambridge, United Kingdom

4. UCL (University College London), United Kingdom

5. Imperial College London, United Kingdom

6. University of Oxford, United Kingdom

7. Stanford University, United States

8. Yale University, United States

9. University of Chicago, United States

10. California Institute of Technology (Caltech), United States

11. Princeton University, United States

New Zealand institutions in the top 500

1. University of Auckland (Rank 94, down from 83 last year)

2. University of Otago (Rank 155, down from 133 last year)

3. University of Canterbury (Rank 238, down from 221 last year)

4. Victoria University of Wellington (Rank 265, down from 237 last year)

5. Massey University (Rank 343, down from 308 last year)

6. University of Waikato (Rank 401-410, down from 374 last year)

7. Auckland University of Technology (Rank 471-480, down from 451 - 500 last year)

8. Lincoln University (Rank 481-490, first time in the list)