The University of Nairobi (UoN) fell 145 positions in the most recent global university rankings, which were released on June 12.
UniRank, a prominent international directory of higher education institutions, ranked the institution at position 924 with a score of 77.81. Previously, the institution held the 779th position.
However, the university ranked first in the whole country and eleventh on the continent.
With a score of 66.92, Kenyatta University ranked second among the finest universities in Kenya.
The institutions Strathmore University, United States International University Africa (USIU), and Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) were ranked among the top five.
Mount Kenya University, Moi University, Technical University of Kenya, and Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA) rounded out the top ten.
St. Paul’s University fell from third to twenty-fifth place, the largest decline in the nation’s rankings.
With a total score of 29.43, Riara University ranked 38th. The university was praised for offering courses and programs leading to officially recognized degrees in a variety of academic disciplines.
The ranking was based on the following criteria: being chartered, licensed, or accredited by the relevant Kenyan higher education-related organization; offering at least three-year bachelor’s degrees or postgraduate master’s or doctoral degrees; and primarily delivering courses in a traditional, non-distance education format.
“UniRank aims to provide a non-academic League Table of the top Kenyan Universities based on valid, unbiased and non-influenceable web metrics provided by independent web intelligence sources rather than data submitted by the Universities themselves,” the statement read in part.
On May 15, 2023, UoN fell 20 positions in an assessment conducted by the Centre for World University Rankings (CWUR) to reach position 1,425 worldwide.
CWUR ranked universities based on four factors: Education, Employability, Faculty, and Research. UoN performed inadequately in its employability ranking, indicating that the majority of its graduates had difficulty entering the workforce.
However, the institution’s research centre performed well and was ranked 1,365 globally.
CWUR surveyed 20,531 institutions in total, and 47 universities did not make the mark for the top 2,000. UoN ranked second in East Africa, behind Uganda’s Makerere University, which was rated 950 globally.
Strathmore, USIU-Africa, and MKU, which led the list of the top three private universities in Kenya, have been ranked among the top private universities.
MKU, which has experienced significant growth in recent years, has joined the ranks of the top universities this year.
uniRank claims to have ranked 63 Kenyan institutions of higher education that have been chartered, licensed, or accredited by the relevant Kenyan higher education-related organization.
In addition to offering at least three-year bachelor’s degrees or postgraduate master’s or doctoral degrees, the institutions must have delivered courses primarily in a traditional, non-distance education format.