The National Association of Private Universities of Kenya wants institutions of higher learning to strive to reach top-level competitiveness in research and innovations, to become attractive globally.
The Chairperson, NAPUK, Dr Vincent Gaitho, said local universities have a competitive advantage due to the peaceful environment they enjoy and, hence can topple other universities in the continent.
He cited the proliferation of international students at the local universities, saying that given more support and branding, they can reach the top competition level.
This comes after a new report that ranks Kenyan Universities as gaining prominence on the continent, with nine universities among the top 100 in Africa.
“Over the years, we have seen thousands of international students enrolling in our local universities. This makes the institutions attractive and competitive, joining the league of top performers,” Dr Gaitho said.
Dr Gaitho welcomed the ranking, saying it motivates local universities to continue being centres of excellence in research, knowledge transfer, international outlook, and teaching among other performances.
This, he said, would help in churning out marketable graduates, who are competitive globally.
“Having both public and private universities in the country compete with recognized universities in the continent, shows that the country’s qualification framework and accreditation systems, have matured to offer training and conduct research for competitive and employable graduates,” he said.
According to the ranking, the University of Nairobi (UON) is sixth (6), Kenyatta University (KU) 28, Strathmore University (42), Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (49) and Mount Kenya University (51).
Others are United States International University Africa at position 65, Egerton University (81), Moi University (82), and Methodist University (82).
Locally, the first slots are UON, KU, Strathmore University, JKUAT, and MKU in that order.
The survey was conducted last year by UniRanks, a global university ranking organization, and was released last week.
The rankings were based on research, knowledge transfer, international outlook, and teaching among other performance indicators, which also included accreditation by relevant higher education bodies in their respective countries.
Across the continent, South Africa leads with 19 universities among the top 100 and seven among the top 10. South Africa’s University of Cape Town clinched the top position.
Globally, the University of Nairobi ranks 924, while South Africa’s University of Cape Town takes position 236. The United States’ Harvard University has remained at the top for six years consecutively.
By Muoki Charles
