Nigeria’s Covenant University Ranks Among Top 10 Varsities In Africa

Cursory:Covenant University in Nigeria ranks 7th in Times Higher Education’s Sub-Saharan Africa University Rankings 2023. The rankings which considers comprehensive performance indicators across five pillars, has seen Nigeria having the highest number of universities in the rankings. Public universities outperformed private universities in most areas but have larger student populations. The rankings include a student survey, with students in private universities generally expressing higher satisfaction with their overall experience compared to those in public universities.

Covenant University, located in Ota, Nigeria, has achieved the 7th position in Times Higher Education’s (THE) inaugural Sub-Saharan Africa University Rankings for 2023. The University of the Witwatersrand, based in Johannesburg, South Africa, has been recognized as the top university on the continent.

This renowned public institution, commonly known as Wits University, celebrated its hundredth anniversary last year and boasts notable alumni such as Nelson Mandela, making it the first university to secure the leading position in THE’s innovative new ranking.

The University of Johannesburg in South Africa holds the second-highest rank, while Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences in Tanzania takes the third position. South Africa claims four spots in the top 10 universities, with Tanzania securing two. Covenant University stands as the only Nigerian university that made it to the top 10 list.

This groundbreaking ranking showcases the most distinguished universities in Sub-Saharan Africa based on comprehensive performance indicators across five pillars: ‘access and fairness,’ ‘Africa impact,’ ‘teaching skills,’ ‘student engagement,’ and ‘resources and finance.’

The Sub-Saharan Africa University Rankings, produced in collaboration with the Mastercard Foundation, assess 88 universities from 17 countries in the region.

Nigeria boasts the highest number of universities in the ranking, with 37 institutions, followed by South Africa with nine, while Ghana and Kenya each have seven. Somalia and Uganda each have five represented in the rankings.

This assessment offers valuable insights into the disparities between public and private universities. Among the 88 ranked universities, 59 (67%) are public, 21 (24%) are private not-for-profit, and eight (9%) are private for-profit.

Notably, seven out of the top 10 universities are public institutions. Public universities achieved an average overall score of 50 in the rankings and charged students a median annual fee of £966.

On the other hand, private institutions attained an average score of 43, with not-for-profit institutions charging £1,922 and for-profit institutions charging £3,291 annually.

Public providers scored higher, on average, in four of the five pillars: access and fairness, Africa impact, resources and finance, and student engagement.

Private universities generally outperformed in teaching and employability skills, while public universities tend to have significantly larger student populations, with an average of over 18,000 students, compared to around 3,500 for private universities.

Furthermore, public universities have an average age of 28 years, nearly double that of private universities at 18 years.A noteworthy component of the ranking is a unique student survey, which takes into account their experiences.

The survey reveals that students in private universities generally express higher satisfaction with their overall experience compared to their peers in public universities, particularly when evaluating facilities, interaction with peers and faculty, employability, course quality, and teaching engagement.

Source: Tribune

Read Also: Full List: UNILORIN, UNILAG Among Top 10 Most Sought-after Universities – JAMB

ALLSCHOOL TEAM