The latest emerging economy university ranking by Times Higher Education makes grim reading for African universities.
Nine of the 13 African universities that made last year’s list dropped places this time around.
The most dramatic drops were found in East and West Africa. The University of Nairobi in Kenya fell more than any other African university, sliding 51 places, followed by Nigeria’s University of Ibadan, which dropped 33 spots.
In South Africa, Stellenbosch University plummeted 31 places to no. 42. The University of the Witwatersrand dropped two positions to eighth overall, and the University of KwaZulu-Natal dropped 12 positions to 58.
The continent’s top performer, the University of Cape Town in South Africa, hung onto its top position at fourth overall. The University of Pretoria increased slightly to no. 74.
The list, published on 30 November, is primarily a showcase for the BRICS grouping of countries, comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. However, it includes 45 other emerging economies including Botswana, Egypt, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya, Mauritius, Morocco and Nigeria. Tunisia was included for the first time this year.
Egypt’s Suez Canal University was the most improved university of the African contingent, up 36 positions to no. 145 in the ranking. The University of Ghana was the continent’s top institution outside South Africa, moving up 17 positions to no. 125.
There’s also a glimmer of hope for South Africa in that it has two universities in the top 10, putting it ahead of all other BRICS countries except China in this measure.
This year’s list has been expanded by 100 universities to 300 in total, giving 14 universities from Africa their debut in the rankings. South Africa and Egypt both have five new entries, which also include a pair from Tunisia, and one from Morocco. The University of the Western Cape is the highest new entry at no. 102.
Phil Baty, THE rankings editor, said that the expanded list means international competition is hotting up and he warned that Africa risks falling behind.
“It is great that African universities have increased their presence in the list but the continent will have to run fast just to stand still in the table in future years,” Baty said.
He praised the universities of Ghana and Suez Canal for their improvement, notably their progress in research.
Chinese institutions dominate the top end of the table, as well as the ranking as a whole. Peking University takes the top spot.