PETALING JAYA, Dec. 21 -- Several academics have reportedly criticised global university rankings as a profit-driven exercise and called for alternative ways to evaluate universities.

Independent academic Sharifah Munirah Alatas said ranking bodies such as QS, Times Higher Education and the Academic Ranking of World Universities were businesses that benefit from participating institutions, according to a report in Free Malaysia Today.

"Many universities in the West have separated themselves from the ranking (exercises). Yet we don't emulate them," she was quoted as saying at a panel session last week.

She reportedly said Malaysian universities often joined rankings without questioning how they influenced teaching, reading materials and...