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EDUCATION

Bologna named ‘Italy’s best’ university in new ranking

The University of Bologna is famous for being the oldest university in the western world, and a new ranking now says it's also the best of Italy's large universities.

Published: 18 July 2019 11:18 CEST
Bologna named 'Italy's best' university in new ranking
The city of Bologna is famous for its university. Photo: Depositphotos

Bologna topped the chart in the 2019 edition of the annual Italian university rankings by poll company Censis.

In the ranking of universities with more than 40,000 students, Bologna reaches an overall score of 90.8 on a scale of 60-120.

It was followed by the universities of Padova, Florence, and Rome's La Sapienza.

The city of Bologna. Photo: depositphotos

The study rated universities on factors including the quality of student facilities, international relations, use of scholarships, digital services, and the future employability of graduates.

Bologna scored highly on most indicators, though lost points when it came to the provision of student services and on the use of scholarships to ensure the “right to study”.

Polytechnics were ranked seperately in the study. The Politecnico di Milano, which repeatedly tops international university rankings, took first place here too with an overall score of 95.8.

The rankings of Italy's biggest universities. Screenshot: Censis

The University of Perugia was number one in the ranking of Italy's smaller universities – those with between 20,000 to 40,000 students – followed by the Calabria and Parma.

The study's authors noted that the number of students enrolling at Italian universities continues to rise, with an increase of 1.3 percent recorded for the 2017-2018 academic year.

They reported that 47 percent of 19-year-olds in Italy are now choosing university education.

However, it noted regional differences with student numbers increasing by up to 4.1 percent in north-eastern regions, but falling in central (-1.2 percent) and southern (-0.1 percent) areas.

The study noted a continuing trend of declining student numbers and poor rankings for universities in the south of the country, as more than 23 percent of students from southern regions went to study in a region other than that of residence, compared to 8.5 percent of those from the north.

Bologna university rector Francesco Ubertini attributed its success to teachers and researchers, and said “the future of Italian universities is in the international dimension.”

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EDUCATION

Sweden’s Social Democrats call for ban on new free schools

Sweden's opposition Social Democrats have called for a total ban on the establishment of new profit-making free schools, in a sign the party may be toughening its policies on profit-making in the welfare sector.

Published: 18 April 2024 16:09 CEST
Sweden's Social Democrats call for ban on new free schools

“We want the state to slam on the emergency brakes and bring in a ban on establishing [new schools],” the party’s leader, Magdalena Andersson, said at a press conference.

“We think the Swedish people should be making the decisions on the Swedish school system, and not big school corporations whose main driver is making a profit.” 

Almost a fifth of pupils in Sweden attend one of the country’s 3,900 primary and secondary “free schools”, first introduced in the country in the early 1990s. 

Even though three quarters of the schools are run by private companies on a for-profit basis, they are 100 percent state funded, with schools given money for each pupil. 

This system has come in for criticism in recent years, with profit-making schools blamed for increasing segregation, contributing to declining educational standards and for grade inflation. 

In the run-up to the 2022 election, Andersson called for a ban on the companies being able to distribute profits to their owners in the form of dividends, calling for all profits to be reinvested in the school system.  

READ ALSO: Sweden’s pioneering for-profit ‘free schools’ under fire 

Andersson said that the new ban on establishing free schools could be achieved by extending a law banning the establishment of religious free schools, brought in while they were in power, to cover all free schools. 

“It’s possible to use that legislation as a base and so develop this new law quite rapidly,” Andersson said, adding that this law would be the first step along the way to a total ban on profit-making schools in Sweden. 

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