EDUCATION – A major global shift in higher education is unfolding as Asian universities rise rapidly, leaving Africa and particularly Nigeria,absent from the world’s top academic rankings.
According to the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2026, released on October 9 and published by the World Economic Forum, Asian institutions are now outpacing their Western and African counterparts in research, innovation, and academic influence.
The report shows that while Oxford University retains the top global position for the tenth consecutive year, China now boasts five universities in the world’s top 40, up from three last year. Chief Knowledge Officer at Times Higher Education, Phil Baty, described this as “a powerful and accelerating trend signaling a shift in the geopolitics of knowledge and innovation.”
In contrast, no African university made the top 200 list. Nigeria, despite being Africa’s largest economy and home to over 170 universities, remains completely unrepresented among the world’s leading research institutions.
“The gap between Asia’s investment-driven educational growth and Africa’s underfunded institutions is widening,” education analyst Dr. Peter Ekong told NewsPoint Africa on Friday. He added that the neglect of research and innovation funding in Nigeria “reflects a moral and situational failure in national priorities.”
Data from Times Higher Education shows that the U.S. and U.K., though still dominant, are gradually losing ground. In the U.S., 62 universities dropped in ranking this year, while the U.K. recorded its lowest number of top-500 universities in history. Meanwhile, China, South Korea, and Saudi Arabia posted record improvements.
Alan Ruby, Senior Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education, noted that “the momentum may be shifting toward the East,” as universities in Asia increasingly combine government support with institutional flexibility.
Countries such as China, South Korea, and Malaysia have invested heavily in higher education, linking universities to national development agendas. China’s Tsinghua and Peking universities retained their 12th and 13th global positions, while Shanghai Jiao Tong University climbed to 40th place.
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In Southeast Asia, Malaysia and Indonesia showed remarkable improvement, with Indonesia ranked as the most improved large nation in overall performance. The University of Hong Kong rose to 33rd position, symbolizing Asia’s growing intellectual influence.
Experts say the implications for Africa and Nigeria in particular are severe. Without strong universities, the continent risks deepening its dependence on imported knowledge and foreign-trained expertise. “Educational dependency is the new colonialism,” said Prof. Mary Udo of the University of Uyo. “When nations fail to build knowledge infrastructure, they forfeit their right to lead innovation.”
Situational ethics analysts argue that the issue is not just about global ranking but about moral responsibility. A society that neglects education, they insist, denies its youth the means for self-reliance and sustainable development.
African leaders are being urged to emulate Asia’s model by prioritizing research funding, global partnerships, and institutional autonomy. “The absence of African voices in global knowledge production is not destiny, it is a choice,” Baty said, warning that unless Africa acts now, “the continent risks being sidelined in the knowledge economy of the 21st century.”
The 2026 rankings evaluated more than 3,100 universities across 136 countries using 17 performance metrics, including research impact, teaching quality, and innovation.
For now, the rise of Asia and the silence of Africa paint a picture of unequal progress in global education, a reminder that the pursuit of knowledge remains both a moral and strategic contest of nations.