QS Quacquarelli Symonds just released its yearly rankings for universities across the globe. While Chula climbed one spot to 252, Mahidol climbed 12 spots from 295 to 283. At a glance, it looks like The Pillar of the Kingdom could see its rival catch up by 2017.

The numbers are actually more complicated. Since 2012, when Chula was ranked 201st in the world, it's true that the trend has been for Thailand's oldest uni to slowly sink in the rankings. Meanwhile, Mahidol has been up and down. There isn't a clear trend of Mahidol catching up.

Moreover, QS's very own rankings contradict themselves. QS issues a global ranking and an Asian ranking. Each one uses slightly different criteria. As a result, in the Asia ranking, Mahidol was already ahead of Chula last year. The unthinkable has already happened. Chula came in as Thailand’s #2 uni in a regional ranking.

To further complicate matters, Mahidol took a big tumble in the 2016 Asian ranking. That means this year Mahidol managed to simultaneously get a big boost in the global ranking and big drop from 44 to 61 in the Asia ranking. Confused yet? We are too.

Whether Mahidol can overtake Chula in the global ranking next year is uncertain--and a bit of a sideshow. The big picture is that Thai universities are not doing very well. QS explains that our poor overall performance is due to a drop in the number of citations in research papers. It’s more evidence that the need to reform Thailand’s educational system is as urgent as ever. (If you followed the recent incident where a student was used as a science experiment by a teacher then made to prostrate herself before her, that reform is still a distant dream.)

Here are the complete 2016-2017 rankings, which reveal more disparities between the global and Asian rankings with Chiang Mai and Thammasat trading places:

GLOBAL RANKING 2016

#252 Chulalongkorn University

#283 Mahidol University

#551-600 Chiang Mai University

#601-650 Thammasat University

#701-916: Kasetsart, Khon Kaen, King Mongkut, Prince Songkla

ASIA RANKING 2016

#45 Chulalongkorn University

#61 Mahidol University

#101 Thammasat University

#104 Chiang Mai University

#129 Kasetsart University

#161 King Mongkut's University of Technology

#165 Khon Kaen University  

#185 Prince of Songkla University  

#251-300 King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang Thailand  

#251-300 Suranaree University of Technology Thailand  

#301-350 King Mongkut's University of Technology North Bangkok Thailand  

#301-350 Naresuan University Thailand  

#301-350 Srinakharinwirot University