In the midst of an impasse in the negotiations between the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Nigerian Universities (ASUU), something to cheer. For the first time since the world established a system to assess universities, Nigeria has come up for mention. The nation’s premier tertiary institution, the University of Ibadan, ranked in the top 1,000 in the 800 to 901 band.
For a country that once flourished in that sector as envy of the world, it is a paradox that we should congratulate ourselves for clutching a place in the top 1,000. But it evinces how low we have dropped in education in the past 30 years.
Many would have expected Nigeria to stand in the top 100 in the 1970s and 80’s if such ranking existed. But this is a good beginning. In the subject-based rankings, known as the Global Ranking of Academic Subjects (GRAS), or Shanghai Ranking, three Nigerian institutions excelled. In the field of veterinary sciences, the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, sat in the 201 and 300 band while the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, stood in the 201 and 300 group in the field of dentistry and oral sciences. In psychology, the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, belonged to the 401-500 cadre.
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The positioning of the Nigerian universities did not come by accident. A Nigerian scholar sowed the seed in a lecture in 2016. Professor Emeritus, Ayo Banjo, delivered a lecture that inspired the Nigerian University Commission (NUC) to set up the National Universities Ranking Committee headed by Professor Peter Okebukola, its former chief. A sub-committee led by Professor Joseph Ajienka provided the template that has helped the Nigerian university compete.
The rankings draw from the following criteria. One, the number of alumni and staff with Nobel Prizes and field medals. Two, the number of highly cited researches selected by Clarivate, a global firm that provides insights and analytics on innovation. Three, the number of articles published in the journals of nature and science. Four, the number of articles in Science Citation Index Expanded and Science Citation Indexes. Five, number of articles in Web of Science. Finally, the institution’s per capita performance.
It is a rigorous exercise but the rankings, while fair, are by no means impeccable. But they give a general picture of how the world’s elite fare. Of course, we are nowhere near the top-ranked schools, and on those criteria, United States universities have always ranked better than other universities in the world combined. For instance, other than Cambridge (ranked 4th) and Oxford (ranked 7th) all the top 10 schools are American, with Harvard leading the pack, followed by California-based Stanford University. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology came third, Berkeley came fifth, Princeton sixth, Columbia eighth, California Institute of Technology ninth and the University of Chicago tenth. A member of the Higher Education Observatory for Africa (HEOFA), Dr. Fred Mensah, commended the NUC for its bold effort. It will only make sense for our universities to build on this news. Nigeria is too talented not to have one or two of its institutions in the top 50, given our natural endowment and pride.
The paralysis of our schools with incessant strikes will not help the rankings. It is also instructive that, for all the investments in private universities, it is the public ones that have sprung for recognition. Also ironic is that it is in the areas of sciences that two of the top-ranked schools found traction.
It ignites hope, and Okebukola sums it up: “I urge all stakeholders to be part of the provision of the enabling environment of better resourcing of our universities, better welfare scheme for staff to bolster motivation and enhance commitment to quality teaching and research and all in the context of a stable academic calendar in order to achieve our 2030 goal of top ranking in global league tables.”