South Africa has experienced a difficult year in the rankings as seven of its 14 ranked institutions slipped down the table, according to UK publication, Times Higher Education (THE).
The University of Cape Town (UCT), which was still ranked as one of the top 200 universities in the world, slipped from position 167 to 180.
Six universities, Stellenbosch University, University of the Witwatersrand, University of Johannesburg, University of KwaZulu-Natal, University of Pretoria and University of the Western Cape, still hold their positions, but none of its institutions have improved.
However, the country has two newcomers to the rankings, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University and University of Fort Hare in band.
The country has one university in the top 200, four in the top 500, and eight in the top 1000.
The UK publication said South African universities have quality pillar research and that’s where the country excels the most in comparison to the rest of the world.
“South Africa does very well in the research excellence and research influence metrics, and also in the research productivity and income metrics. South African university research is very international and is able to attract international staff but the country does not do so well at bringing in international students,” said the publication.
In West African, Nigeria has one university in the top 1000, five in the top 1200 and 11 in the top 1500.
Meanwhile, its neighbouring country, Ghana, has has one university in the top 1000 and three in the top 1500.
Ethiopia, Mauritius and Uganda are all represented by one university each. Ethiopia’s Jimma University has slipped down to band 1201-1500 from 1001-1200.
University of Mauritius in Mauritius maintains its position in the 1201–1500 band. Meanwhile, Makerere University in Uganda falls quite significantly to band 1201–1500, from band 801–1000.
Oxford University in the UK takes the number one spot for a record-breaking ninth consecutive year.
The United States has a new leader, Massachusetts Institute of Technology in second place and Australia’s top five universities all slip down the rankings.
sinenhlanhla.masilela@iol.co.za
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