South African universities dominate the top ranking of universities on the African continent. And the University of Witwatersrand is quite impressively ranked at number two in Africa. What reason would you give for the dominance of South African universities? And what would you attribute the success of the University of Witwatersrand in particular to?
You can just do this map globally as well. The wealthiest nation in the world, which is the United States, has its top universities dominating the rankings with the likes of Harvard, MIT, Stanford and so on, I mean the list is endless. Followed by and large by China which is rising quite fast as their economy rises faster. The European nations, the global north as you all know, also dominate the rankings. You will find that the rankings favour those nations that are relatively advanced. Australian and Canadian universities, for example, are also doing very well.
South Africa doesn’t have the largest economy, but it’s got the wealthiest economy. In terms of the highest concentration of wealth, Johannesburg is the wealthiest city on the continent, which therefore gives it greater access to resources, technology and so on. All these contribute to its positioning and of course, its networks. South Africa is well connected to the global north, and to Europe and America in particular. So that lends itself because I believe we have people who have come, who have studied and have left to work in New York and London, so of course that would speak highly for our rankings. I think that’s part of what gives South African universities an advantage but I can’t say that rankings are a scientific measure of quality. They’re just one of the indicators as to why South African universities are ranked so highly. And it’s not just South African universities, it’s the South African universities that are relatively privileged if you know South African history – advantaged universities such as the universities of Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Pretoria, Natal and Johannesburg. They were classified as “historically white universities” and located in urban areas whilst the universities of Zululand and Fort Hare and others are located far from the urban areas and from major economic activity as well.
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