Covenant University, located in Ota, Nigeria, has been ranked among the top 10 universities in Africa.
THE EDITOR NIGERIA reports that this follows the release of the Times Higher Education (THE) inaugural Sub-Saharan Africa University Rankings for 2023, which placed Covenant University in the seventh position.
While the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, secured the title of the best university on the continent, Covenant University is the only institution in Nigeria featured in the top 10. Covenant University stands as the only Nigerian university to secure a position in the top 10. Meanwhile, four of the top 10 universities from South Africa and two from Tanzania were featured.
Coming in as the second-highest ranked institution is the University of Johannesburg, also situated in South Africa. Meanwhile, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences in Tanzania clinched the third spot.
This ranking system reveals the strongest universities across Sub-Saharan Africa, assessing their performance based on a comprehensive set of indicators. The evaluation encompasses five key pillars, including “access and fairness,” “Africa impact,” “teaching skills,” “student engagement,” and “resources and finance.”
When examining the rankings from a national perspective, Nigeria has the highest number of universities, with 37 entries. South Africa follows closely behind with nine universities, while Ghana and Kenya each claim seven. Somalia and Uganda, on the other hand, each have five institutions featured in the rankings.
The ranking data also sheds light on the contrasting characteristics of public and private universities. Of the 88 ranked institutions, 59 (67%) are publicly funded, while 21 (24%) operate as private, not-for-profit entities. Private for-profit universities constitute eight institutions (9%), with seven of the top 10 universities falling under the public category.
In terms of overall performance, public universities achieved an average score of 50 in the rankings, charging students a median annual fee of £966. Conversely, private institutions received an average score of 43, with not-for-profit establishments charging £1,922 per year and for-profit universities demanding £3,291 annually.
