The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has been ranked as the ‘Top University’ in Africa and 14th globally with a score of 83.7 percent, based on its commitment to Sustainable Development Goal four (SDG 4) – quality education.
The ranking on SDG 4 – quality education, measures universities’ contribution to early years and lifelong learning, their pedagogy research, and their commitment to inclusive education.
This report is by the Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings 2022. The THE Impact Rankings are the only global performance tables that assess universities against the 17 United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“We use carefully calibrated indicators to provide comprehensive and balanced comparison across four broad areas: research, stewardship, outreach, and teaching,” the THE stated.
The ranking included more than 1,180 universities from 106 countries/regions. This year’s ranking analyzed more than 108 million citations across over 14.4 million research publications and included survey responses from almost 22,000 scholars globally.
KNUST managed to place 14th globally, with a score of 83.7 percent and was the only African university to appear within the first 20 lists, hence, topping all universities in Africa. The University of Johannesburg came closest at 39th position globally with a score of 77.7 percent in Africa.
The result is based on 13 meticulously calibrated performance measures that assess a university’s performance in four areas of quality education: teaching, research, knowledge transfer, and international outlook.
This ranking focuses on universities’ contribution to early years and lifelong learning, their research on quality education in general, and their commitment to inclusive education because early years provision and lifelong learning are not the main focus of education at universities.
The ranking is led by Denmark’s Aalborg University, while King Abdulaziz University in Saudi Arabia and Lingnan University in Hong Kong complete the top three.
Spain is the most-represented nation in the top 100, with 11 institutions, followed by Chile with seven.
The Impact Rankings are inherently dynamic: they are growingly rapidly each year as many more universities seek to demonstrate their commitment to delivering the SDGs by joining the database; and they allow institutions to demonstrate rapid improvement year-on-year, by introducing clear new policies, for example, or by providing clearer and more open evidence of their progress.
“Therefore, we expect and welcome regular change in the ranked order of institutions (and we discourage year-on-year comparisons) as universities continue to drive this urgent agenda,” the THE indicated.
The THE were very emphatic that this ranking should not be used to assess the overall quality of teaching at a university.
Western University in Canada ranked first in SDG One – No poverty, based on its research on poverty and support for students from poor families.
Hokkaido University in Japan was first in SDG-2 – Zero hunger, based on research on hunger, teaching on food sustainability, and commitment to tackling food waste and hunger on campus and locally.
Iran University of Medical Sciences (Iran), came first in SDG-3 – Good health and well-being. Its research on key diseases and conditions, support for healthcare professions, and the health of students and staff were key indicators.
