Some Aussie varsities 'rated lower', but were not delisted

Some of the 10 Australian universities approved for the study of law by Singapore are on a par or worse than several British institutions which were recently delisted - at least according to global ranking reports.

The number of Singapore law students in Britain more than tripled from 350 in 2008 to 1,142 in 2013. The number going to Australia to read law also rose from 303 in 2011 to 386 in 2013.

In a ranking of law degrees worldwide last year, London- based educational consultancy Quacuarelli Symonds placed Australia's University of Tasmania in the 151 to 200 range. This was the same position given to the University of Sheffield and the University of Southampton - two of the eight British varsities dropped from the list of institutions approved for admission to the Singapore Bar this week.

The University of Western Australia and University of Queensland were ranked 51 to 100, the same as Britain's University of Leeds and University of Manchester - both of which were also dropped after a review by the Singapore Institute of Legal Education.

In another world ranking, Australian institutions Murdoch University, Flinders University and the University of Tasmania fared much worse - in places 551, 481 and 401 respectively.

In response, the Ministry of Law said the review did not cover universities in Australia and the United States. This was because "these are subject to the free trade agreements (FTAs) and have to be negotiated in the context of the FTAs".

This article was first published on Feb 27, 2015.
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