News
UG ranked Ghana’s number one again, 2nd in West Africa
The University of Ghana has been ranked as the best university in Ghana and second-best in West Africa in the 2023 edition of the Global 2000 list by the Center for World University Rankings (CWUR).
The University was also considered part of the top 6.1% of world-class universities by the Centre.
This outstanding recognition solidifies the University’s position as the leading institution in Ghana and the second-best in West Africa.
The CWUR’s rigorous assessment process evaluated 20,531 universities worldwide, with only the top 2000 making it to the Global 2000 list.
The rankings were based on seven objective indicators across four areas, which are, education quality, alumni employment, faculty quality, and research performance.
Scoring an impressive 69.1, the University of Ghana secured the top spot in Ghana. In the West Africa Region, the University of Ghana’s remarkable performance positioned it as the second-best University, just behind Nigeria’s University of Ibadan, which achieved a score of 69.5.
This notable achievement comes at a time that the University is celebrating its 75th Anniversary and is testament to the University of Ghana’s unwavering commitment to academic excellence, innovative research, and holistic student development over its 75 years of existence.
The University’s impressive performance in key areas such as academic reputation, research output, faculty quality, international collaborations, and graduate employability, solidifies its reputation as an intellectual hub and provider of high-quality education.
Reacting to the ranking, Prof. Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, Vice-Chancellor of the University, expressed her joy and attributed this success to the resilience, dedication and hard work of the faculty, staff, and students. She emphasised that this achievement reflects the University’s collective commitment to excellence and the relentless pursuit of knowledge.
The Premier University’s recognition as the leading institution in the country and the second-best in West Africa is a source of immense pride for the nation as it has long been regarded as a beacon of higher education. The University has and continues to nurture generations of leaders, scholars, and professionals who contribute significantly to the socio-economic development of Ghana and beyond.
With this remarkable milestone, the University of Ghana has firmly established itself as a leading force in academia, setting new benchmarks for higher education in Ghana in particular and West Africa as a whole.
Background
Since 2012, the Center for World University Rankings (CWUR) has been publishing the academic ranking of global universities that assesses the quality of education, employability, quality of faculty, and research without relying on surveys and university data submissions.
The ranking started out as a project in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia with the aim of rating the top 100 world universities. It was quickly reported worldwide by universities and the media, and many requests were received to expand it. In 2019, the ranking expanded to list the top 2000 out of nearly twenty thousand universities worldwide, making it the largest academic ranking of global universities.
Details of the 2023 Edition captures the CWUR seven objective and robust indicators grouped into four areas to rank the world’s universities.
For Education, the assessment is based on the academic success of a university’s alumni, and measured by the number of a university’s alumni who have won prestigious academic distinctions relative to the university’s size and attracts 25% of the scores.
Employability is the second area assessed and is based on the professional success of a university’s alumni, and measured by the number of a university’s alumni who have held top positions at major companies relative to the university’s size which also attracts 25%.
10% of the scores are dedicated to Faculty, which is measured by the number of faculty members who have won prestigious academic distinctions.
On Research area, the assessment is focused on, Research Output measured by the total number of research papers (10%); High-Quality Publications, measured by the number of research papers appearing in top-tier journals (10%); Influence, measured by the number of research papers appearing in highly-influential journals (10%) and Citations, measured by the number of highly-cited research papers (10%).
Credit:Myjoyonline
News
Swallowed by the Sea! …Keta’s coastal lines, landmarks, efforts to preserve heritage
The Atlantic Ocean is no longer a distant blue horizon for the people of Keta.
It now circles around their doorsteps, uninvited, unrelenting, pulling down walls and other structures, erasing memories, and threatening lives.
Hovering precariously between the restless sea and the Keta Lagoon, this once-thriving coastal town is slowly being obliterated.
Salt water has become both a physical and metaphorical threat, dissolving the town’s past as fast as it claims its future.
Madam Aku Atitso, 62, lives in a crumbling former Prisons Service quarters – one of the few structures still standing on the eroded stretch of Queen Street.
She sits quietly at the entrance, preparing a modest breakfast for herself and her granddaughter.
The air is thick with salt and silence. “The sea took everything,” she says softly. “My husband’s nets, our mattress, our memories all gone overnight.” Her voice trembles. “This place too is dying. But it’s the last place with a roof over my head.”
A few metres away, Aunty Esinam, 79, watches the sea from a low stool beside a wooden shelter. Her eyes do not blink. “That spot,” she points, “used to be someone’s living room, a whole family lived there”.
It’s not just homes that are vanishing. Landmarks that anchored Keta’s cultural identity are disappearing one after another. The once-imposing Fort Prinzenstein, a haunting relic of the transatlantic slave trade is now more of a ruin than a monument.
the encroaching waters along Keta’s
coast.
encroaching waters along Keta’s coast
The colonial-era Bremen factory, the old cinema where generations of children once laughed at flickering black-and-white films is also gone.
Queen Street, once the town’s bustling backbone, is now a watery corridor choked with debris.
Standing atop a section of the sea defence wall, 69-year-old retired teacher Efo Kwasi Agbeko surveys what remains.
“The first police station is mostly gone,” he says, gesturing part of the building stuck in the sea sand, only ruins and a few rooms remain.
“This town is fighting, but the sea is winning,” he said.
Even the Cape St. Paul Lighthouse, Keta’s historic sentinel, leans perilously toward the water, and fishermen say holes in the shore are opening more frequently, sometimes every week.
That leaves a thick cloud of uncertainty hanging around the historic town of Keta.
Once upon a time, it was a vibrant town noted for business but currently left with ruins with a few of the residents watching in awe the sea’s devastation.
From: Geoffrey Kwame Buta, Keta, Volta Region
News
Ghanaians climax Easter with fun-filled activities
Christians around the world and other faith based groups last Monday climaxed the Easter celebration with a number of fun-filled outdoor and indoor activities.
With streets empty, fun seekers stormed church premises where picnics were held while others partied in many ways.
Others spent the day at the various beaches and music and film shows occupying the others.
velleyball competition
at the Laboma Beach
Church in Tema Community 8 engaged
in a number of activities including the
popular draught competition
At the churches, participants engaged in bible reading, football, volleyball, playing cards, table tennis, horse racing, bouncing castles, swimming and oware.
one of the picnic venues
Others played ludo, tag of war, lime and spoon, draught, music competitions among others.
The Spectator captured some of the exciting scenes around Accra-Tema for the benefit of readers.
Story & pictures by Victor A. Buxton
