UK-Based Magazine Ranks Makerere 5th Best University in Africa

Times Higher Education, a weekly magazine based in London has ranked Makerere University the fifth best higher institution in Africa in its 2020 World University Rankings. According to the rankings released last week (11^th September 2019), Makerere is also ranked the best in East Africa, Central Africa, West Africa and Southern Africa.

The news has come following September rankings that placed Makerere University College of Health Sciences in the second position in Africa and 250^th globally. Despite beating most African institutions hands down, Makerere is still challenged by South African universities.

While commenting about the new rankings, Prof Barnabas Nawangwe, the Makerere University Vice-Chancellor noted that he was excited to see Makerere maintain its position on the African soil.

 “It is great to see Makerere University maintain her position among the top five universities in the continent in the prestigious 2020 rankings. Our medical school has also maintained its leadership as one of the top 250 medical schools globally and number two on the continent,” Nawangwe said.

In the same rankings (The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2020), the University of Cape Town was ranked the best in Africa while University of Oxford leads globally.

Ranking Makerere the 5^th best university in Africa is likely to dismiss rumours that the Wandegeya-based university is losing education value. It should be recalled that Webometrics university rankings placed Makerere in the 16^th position in Africa, which some people have attributed to increasing strikes and corruption at the hill.

Below are some of the universities listed in the newly released rankings;

Top six in Africa

1.      University of Cape Town (South Africa)

2.     University of the Witwatersrand (SA)

3.      Stellenbosch University (SA)

4.      University of Kwazulu-Natal (SA)

5.      Makerere University (Uganda)

6.      American University in Cairo (Egypt)

Top five in the world

1.      University of Oxford (UK)

2.      California Institute of Technology (US)

3.      University of Cambridge (UK)

4.      Stanford University (UK)

5.      Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US)