Toba Owojaiye Reporting
South Africa and Tanzania have outperformed many Nigerian institutions in the Times Higher Education (THE) ranking of universities in sub-Saharan Africa. The University of Witwatersrand in South Africa claimed the top spot in the inaugural ranking, followed by the University of Johannesburg, also in South Africa.
The Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences in Tanzania secured the third position. However, Nigeria’s highest-ranked institution in the ranking is Covenant University, which placed seventh.
The faith based university founded by Bishop David Oyedepo has continued to get global recognition in its pursuit of excellence.
The University of Pretoria and the University of the Western Cape, both in South Africa, ranked fourth and sixth, respectively. Makerere University in Uganda took the fifth spot. Other universities in the top ten include the University of Global Health Equity in Rwanda, Ashesi University in Ghana, and Tanzania’s Ardhi University.
The ranking evaluates universities based on performance indicators across five areas, including access and fairness, Africa impact, teaching skills, student engagement, and resources and finance. Developed in collaboration with the Mastercard Foundation, the ranking assesses 88 universities from 17 countries in the region.
Nigeria has the highest number of universities in the ranking, with 37 institutions, followed by South Africa with nine, and Ghana and Kenya with seven each. Somalia and Uganda have five universities each represented.
The ranking also highlights differences between public and private universities. Public universities make up the majority, with 59 out of the 88 ranked institutions. Public universities received an average overall score of 50 and charged students a median of £966 (approximately N992,140,572) per year.
Private not-for-profit institutions scored an average of 43, with an average annual tuition fee of £1,922 (N1,946,986), while for-profit institutions had an average score of 43 and charged £3,291 (N3,333,783) per year.
The ranking provides valuable data for understanding the educational landscape and highlights the strengths and challenges of universities in sub-Saharan Africa.