A lecturer at University of Professional Studies, Sammy Darko, has attributed the prominence of University of Ghana Legon, to its consistent feature in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings.
According to Mr. Darko, since the inception of the global ranking about two decades ago, Legon has been the country’s only university to meet the criteria for selection and ranking.
As a result, the recent rankings which sees three other universities featuring in it, in his words, is very significant.
“We have only had one university in Ghana that has consistently showed up and that is University of Ghana. And I’m very sure this is what gave all the prominence to University of Ghana as the premier university apart from bearing the name of Ghana.
“So it is very significant that after 17 years we have also had three more universities showing up on this ranking. And that is what makes it important,” he said on 3FM’s midday news monitored by Angelonline.com.gh.
The three universities that made it into the latest ranking include University of Cape Coast which has been ranked number one in Ghana, first in West Africa and first globally for research influence among other unique achievements.
The others are University of Ghana Legon, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and University of Professional Studies (UPS).
For the a university to be ranked, these criteria must be met: the university must publish 1000 papers in a reputable publication in a five year period, teach in multiple subject areas and teach undergraduates.
The grading of the institutions which measures their performances comes from four areas: teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook.
According to the UPS lecturer, the inclusion of the institutions in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings comes with benefits.
He said aside the ranking, the institutions have a global recognition because “it is the standard that everyone across the world, from China to India uses to assess their universities” adding that it also “increases your standing with your peers in areas and other universities across the world.”
