The Last Africa’s University Ranking : The Africa's And Nigeria’s Eleven (11) Lessons

On close observation of the rankings done on Africa’s universities and higher institutions based on their research publications and citations from the last five years (2010 to 2014) as well as their visibility on the internet, published by Journal Consortium. These points stated below was visible and the implications of these were also noted as it will contribute to better standard of education in Nigeria and Africa in general , when and only when we are able to right the wrongs that exist in our higher institutions and our universities .

It also showed that the clamour and regard attached to foreign certificates, university certificates of our local universities and or “less regard or discrimination” given to Bsc and HND graduates are almost unnecessary considering the quoted variances that exist in the two classes of certificate.

This ranking has shown that if these two classes of graduates are evaluated based on the currency of information given to them at school through research done by the lecturers to know the most resent state of events in the academic field, it will be seen that even some colleges of education should come first before some “reputable universities” in Africa. The sub-normal situation ranges from certificate discrimination, national security, standard of education and level of moral decadence owing to low level of research by Theological Seminaries and Islamic Schools.

The ranking revealed that the even the lecturers are even lazy to read and therefore has forgotten the quotation made by one of their colleagues they tell the students about being, Albert Einstein who said that “knowledge must continually be renewed by ceaseless effort, if it is not to be lost. It resembles a stature of marble which stands in desert and is continually threatened with burial by shifting sand.

The hands of service must ever be at work in order that the marble continues to lastingly shine in the sun. To these serving hands mine shall also belong”. I deemed it necessary to remind the lecturers of this very citation from (Einstein, on education, 1950) they made me to memorize in those days.

These were the observations made:

1. Nigeria is the giant of Africa but it came 8^th with the universities in Cape Town, Cairo, Pretoria, Nairobi, South Africa, Witwaterstrand and Stellenbosch coming before Nigeria respectively.
2. One popular and (as rumoured) one of the most expensive private universities in Nigeria ranked 53 behind 12 Nigeria’s government owned universities. A credit to our great nation.
3. State owned universities like LASU at 59^th position, DELSU at 69^th EBSU at 87^th outranked many Federal Government owned Universities. Showing the ability of some states.
4. The ranking cut across universities, polytechnics and colleges of education in Africa, though universities took the first 141^st position, before a polytechnic in Namibia clenched the 142^nd followed by Ecole National Polytechnique at 178^th position and our own ; The Polytechnic of

Ibadan took the 182^nd seat beating many universities in Africa with Nigeria inclusive.

1. Some universities in Africa which have European affiliation can still rank behind a polytechnic in Africa like the British University in Egypt at 155^th when a polytechnic in Namibia was ranked 142^nd showing the strength of Africa at that point.
2. Some college/polytechnic in Nigeria like Yaba College of Technology at a position of 170 outranked many universities in Africa with Nigeria not left out. Showing the strength of Nigeria polytechnics.
3. Upon the security need in the areas of military intelligence and combat against insurgency in Nigeria and the lion’s share of security on our annual budget, Nigeria Defense Academy ranked as far as 214^th position with Military Technical College at 233^rd position to show us the length we need to go in other to bring Boko Haram to a standstill.
4. One can also see that a college of education can even rank above private university in Nigeria, like when we look at the position of Adeyemi College of Education and Benson Idahosa University.
5. Even when petroleum is the mainstay of our economy and our greatest source of foreign earnings, Federal University of Petroleum Resources was ranked 355^th even when the institution was built for nothing other than research and education in the area of petroleum resources.
6. Upon the need and clamour for professionalism, an institution that was established for only professional studies, as the name implies like University of Professional Studies in Accra was ranked 401 in Africa and even 17^th in her own country Ghana to show that we need to fold back our sleeves and do something.
7. And lastly, as a source of knowledge, moral principles, and religious standards owing to the moral decadence in our societies, South Africa Theological Seminary was so regrettably ranked as far as 409 in Africa and 25^th in her own country while their Islamic counterpart ranked even below at 413rd recorded on the Islamic University in Uganda though the school ranked 9^th in her own country.

IBEZIMAKO CHINONSO
SERVING CORPS MEMBER,
RESEARCHER AND WRITER, WRITING FROM ENUGU.
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