Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) showed marked improvement in the latest global university ranking by Spain’s research orgnanisation Webometrics. JKUAT moved up three places from position seven last year to fourth, beating Strathmore, Egerton and Moi Universities.
University of Nairobi (UoN) and Kenyatta University mainted position one and two respectively. The two institutions also improved their continental ranking to 12th and 19th but South African Universities again dominated the top 10 list.
Webometrics ranks universities based on number of research papers published by universities on their websites. It also measures the number of publications a university submits to international academic journals and the level of activity on the institution’s website.
However, critics have questioned Webometrics ranking methodology as it only examines the website as an indication of how well the university is doing. While the ranking may give an indication of the quality of teaching staff, the same does not necessary determine the quality of graduates.
But Webometrics says it aims to encourage greater adoption of online publications and open access to information. Interestingly, for an organization that seeks to encourage use of the web to disseminate information, the Webometrics website doesn’t open (as of publish time).
Top Universities in Kenya
1. University of Nairobi
2. Kenyatta University
3. Maseno University
4. JKUAT
5. Strathmore
6. Egerton
7. Moi
