University of Ibadan, Lagos State University, University of Lagos, and Covenant University (all in Nigeria) have ranked among the top 1,000 universities in the world.
This was contained in the 2021 Times Higher Education (THE) World University Ranking released on Wednesday.
Last year, the ranking for 2020 by the same THE had placed Covenant University at the top, followed by the University of Ibadan, the University of Lagos and the University of Nigeria, Nsukka in that order.
Ranking is based on 13 calibrated performance indicators that measure an institution’s performance across teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook
Times Higher Education ranked UI, LASU, UNILAG as first, second, and third respectively in Nigeria.
Privately-owned Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State, was ranked fourth; while another Federal Government-owned University, UNN came fifth and Obafemi Awolowo University came sixth in Nigeria.
The University of Oxford tops the rankings for the fifth consecutive year, while mainland China’s Tsinghua University becomes the first Asian university to break into the top 20 under the current methodology (launched in 2011).
US claims a record eight places in the top 10, after the University of California, Berkeley, climbed six places to seventh, but US universities outside the top 200 show signs of decline.
There were 141 first-time entrants in the rankings this year, topped by France’s recently merged Paris-Saclay University (joint 178th).
India has the highest number of new entries (14) and as a result, boasts a record number of ranked institutions (63).
A breakdown of the ranking further showed that UI rose to the 401- 500 bracket to overtake CU, which witnessed a drop from 2018’s 636th position to remain at the top 1,000.
CU was ranked as Nigeria’s best university in THE’s 2020 report after usurping UI since 2018.
LASU placed between 501 and 600 bands, while UNILAG ranked 601–800.
