UCT one of 10 best varsities within Brics bloc

THE University of Cape Town has been named as one of the top 10 universities in the Brics economic bloc of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

It is the only SA university to break into the top 10 – moving from 11th position last year to ninth this year in a survey by QS University Rankings.

Other South African universities surveyed included Wits, at position 31 this year, Stellenbosch (34), Pretoria (46), KwaZulu-Natal (60), Johannesburg (65), Rhodes (76) and Western Cape (92).

The University of the Free State and the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University were in the 101-110 and 151-200 ranges respectively.

Top honours went to China's Tsinghua University, with five other Chinese universities in the top 10.

The universities were measured on academic and employer reputations, faculty-to-student ratio, staff with doctorates, papers per faculty, citations per paper, international faculty and international students.

Martin Ince, senior editor of QS Higher Education World, said poor faculty-to-student ratios had an adverse effect on South African universities' rankings.

Despite UCT's success, its spokeswoman, Riana Geldenhuys, said it would not comment until the results had been studied.

UJ deputy vice-chancellor Tinyiko Maluleke said his university' s ranking would "inspire the staff and students to strive for more excellence".

However, not all South African universities were celebrating .

Rhodes University spokesman Zamuxolo Matiwana said the institution did not take part in such rankings as a "matter of principle".

He said the university wanted to meet the real needs of the South African education sector "without engaging in homogenous attempts at excellence".

"Instead of aspiring to this Western educational ideal, South African universities should concentrate on establishing themselves in different ways with different strengths," he said. - Poppy Louw