Kenyatta University is the new best university in Kenya, overtaking the University of Nairobi as per the just-released World Universities Rankings 2025. The ranking released by Times Higher Education placed no Kenyan university in Africa's top 10 that are dominated by eight from South African, one from Nigeria, and another from Ghana.
But despite its own success at home, KU's victory reveals a worrying state of affairs that defines the public universities of Kenya, which have struggled with underfunding and staffing, together with a controversial funding model introduced last year. The recent nationwide strike by lecturers over pay, called off just two weeks ago, was another indication of the turmoil in Kenya's higher education system.
Other Kenyan universities which featured in the ranking include Amref International University, Egerton University, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology, Kabarak University, Kibabii University, Kisii University, Maasai Mara University, Machakos University, The Catholic University of East Africa, University of Eldoret, University of Kabianga, and Zetech University.
Ranking Criteria and Performance of KU
The world universities ranking is done based on five key areas that include: teaching-learning environment, research environment- volume and income, reputation, research quality-citation impact-research excellent influence, international outlook-staff, students, research, and industry income, including patents. Teaching, research environment, and research quality are the most heavily weighted items at 29.5%, 29%, and 30% of the overall score, respectively.
In teaching, Kenyatta University had scored 14.2% against the University of Nairobi, which had scored 12.5%. However, UoN outperformed KU in research environment and research quality, scoring 9.8% and 37.3%, against KU's 8.9% and 27.2%, respectively.
Funding and Staffing Challenges
They have warned that poorly funding university teaching is having adverse impacts on prospective staff-to-student ratios, evaluation processes, and overall academic quality. Nick Hillman, the director of the Higher Education Policy Institute, once said, "If funding is tight, it is impossible for universities to maintain teaching standards, with larger classes and fewer contact hours. This goes on to affect a university's global standing if other countries are investing in their system.".
It has also retained number one internationally at the University of Oxford for the ninth consecutive year. Other internationally renowned institutions completing the top 10 are Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US; Harvard University, US; Princeton University, US; University of Cambridge, UK; and Stanford University, US.
The University of Cape Town of South Africa leads the ranking list in Africa; Stellenbosch University takes the second position, while the University of Witwatersrand takes the third position, with both universities located in South Africa. Nigeria's Covenant University and Ghana's University of Cape Coast are the only two universities that have managed to break into the top ten list from South Africa.