State of SA education big fat mess

With our universities in turmoil, students continually threatening admin staff – and other dire consequences if their demands are not met – and the utter wastage of millions of rands on their destructive behaviour, it is time to look at the academic state of our institutions.

Wits being ranked the top institution on the continent does not say much, as African universities are not rated very highly in world rankings.

In the Times Higher Education World Rankings (2015 to 2016), Wits is rated between 201st and 250th, UCT 120th and Stellenbosch between 301 and 350.

In the Centre of World University Rankings, Wits is 149th, UCT 248th and Stellenbosch 306th. In the 2015 QS World University Rankings, Wits is 331st , UCT 171st and Stellenbosch 302nd.

In the University Ranking by Academic Performance (2015 to 2016) UCT ranks 237th, Wits 312th, Stellenbosch 405th and KwaZulu-Natal 369th.

All our other universities are ranked way above the 450 mark up to 900th.

Our world rankings are pathetic. What are our degrees worth? Once we rate in the top 20 in the world, we can start boasting.

Our education is at the crossroads, with the ever-declining academic standards, wastage on protesting students, and the yearly dropouts. We have the benchmark of regression.

Richard,