Top African universities slip on rankings list

The University of Cape Town and the University of the Witwatersrand – the top two universities in Africa – dropped in the Times Higher Education 2017 rankings, with researchers warning South African universities could disappear from the top 200 if the trend continues, writes Michelle Gumede for Business Live.

Editorial director of Times Higher Education Phil Baty said institutions in South Africa had been heavily affected by issues such as student protests and insufficient funding, which affected international perception and the general academic environment. The Times Higher Education rankings evaluate 1,000 universities from 77 countries based on teaching, research output, international outlook, reputation and industry income.

The University of Cape Town was again the highest placed university in Africa at number 171, but fell 23 places from 2016. The University of the Witwatersrand was second on the continent, dropping from 182nd to the 251-300 bracket. Stellenbosch University was third, followed by the University of KwaZulu-Natal. South Africa’s top four universities were followed by Uganda’s Makerere University. Egypt’s Beni-Suef University also placed higher than the University of Johannesburg, the University of Pretoria and the University of the Western Cape.
Full report on the Business Day Live site