University of Ghana 7th best in Africa
The University of Ghana has gained the enviable rank of seventh best university in Africa in The Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings.
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The latest ranking makes the university the topmost university in the West Africa sub-region and the best at the national level.
A press statement signed by the Director of Public Affairs of the University of Ghana, Mrs Stella A. Amoa, said the University of Cape Town came first, with Uganda’s Makerere University being the only institution outside South Africa to make it among the top five.
The World University Rankings have been published ahead of the second Africa Universities Summit which ends at the University of Ghana today.
Investment in research
The statement quoted the Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Prof. Ernest Aryeetey, as saying that investments in research in the institution were beginning to pay off.
He added that the reforms instituted were extremely beneficial, expressing his gratitude to “all the hardworking researchers and others who have made our consistent rise possible.”
The statement said the Director of the Centre for Higher Education Trust and coordinator of the Higher Education Research and Advocacy Network in Africa, Dr Nico Cloetes, explained that four institutions on the list, Cape Town, Makerere, Nairobi and Ghana, had developed strategies to become research-led flagship universities in their countries.
The four universities had also seen significant increases in doctoral graduates and research outputs during the last five years.
Rankings
The statement also quoted the rankings editor, Mr Phil Baty, as saying that the snapshot ranking was based on the same criteria as the World University Rankings, with custom-made range of metrics and following a public consultation to get a full Africa University Ranking.
The Times Higher Education World University Rankings are generated from five pillars, each of which represents a key area of higher education excellence - teaching (the learning environment), research (volume, income and reputation), citations (research influence), industry income (knowledge transfer) and international outlook (staff, students and research).
The Africa ranking applies to the same performance indicators as the overall THE World University Rankings.
“To be included in the Africa ranking is indeed a significant achievement and all who have played a part should bask in the glory of this success,” the statement added.