Best University in Africa: UCT takes the crown

The latest QS World University Rankings have put the University of Cape Town (UCT) in top spot for Best University in Africa.

The QS World University Rankings have listed the University of Cape Town (UCT) as the best in Africa. However, the university’s overall score keeps dropping whilst the University of Johannesburg (UJ) continues to improve. 

QS WORLD UNIVERSITY RANKINGS CONSIST OF 1.4K UNIVERSITIES

The annual QS World University Rankings is considered to be in the top three globally for university ranking systems. It is currently 237 on the global tally.

The system is comprised of over 1 400 universities from around the world. Each University is ranked based on six primary indicators; academic reputation, employer reputation, faculty-to-student ratio, citations per faculty, and international student ratio. 

UCT WAS RANKED 141 GLOBALLY IN 2015

While it was ranked 141 on the global tally in 2015, UCT continues to drop in its overall score when compared to universities across the globe. Although UCT continues to drop in terms of its overall score, UJ has improved significantly and is now ranked second among universities in Africa.

While UJ still sits significantly far behind UCT with regard to global rankings, UJ has seemingly been on a trajectory opposite to that of UCT, reports Business Insider.

ALSO READ: Cape Town ranked the baby-making capital of the world!

UCT INCREASES SECURITY FOLLOWING DISRUPTION OF MID-YEAR EXAMS

In other news about the university, it was previously reported that the university had responded to the disruption of exams that were benign written on Monday, 6 June. The university said a group of individuals who are neither employees nor students disrupted the exams.

UCT condemned the actions of the individuals, stating that it was an infringement on the rights of students to “sit their mid-year exams in a conducive environment”. It confirmed that exam scripts of students who were being supported by UCT’s disability services were torn up.

The University stated that the disruption was not a legitimate protest. It confirmed that it had called the South African Police Services (SAPS) to the campus. UCT also laid charges of trespassing and malicious damage to property against the individuals. Read the full story here.

By: Reeshni Chaslyn Chetty