UNIVERSITIES’ RANKINGS: Covenant, UI, UNILAG, Edo Varsity emerge tops -By Adesina Wahab

Times Higher Education, THE, has released the results of its Impact Rankings for 2021 with Covenant University, Ota, University of Ibadan, University of Lagos and Edo University Uzairue topping the list from Nigeria. The Times Higher Education Impact Rankings assesses universities against the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs. SDG Goal 4, which focuses on early years and lifelong learning, was used to measure the universities’ contributions to early years and lifelong learning, their pedagogy research and their contributions to inclusive education. The 2021 edition is the third in the series and covered 1,117 universities in 94 nations/regions. University of Manchester, England was ranked first globally. Also read: Convene national dialogue to quell agitations for self determination, Igbo leader tells FG On the African continent, the University of Cape Town, University of Pretoria and the University of Witwatersrand, all in South Africa, ranked first, second and third while, in Nigeria, Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State was rated number one. Edo State University Izairue, which was founded in 2016, is the youngest among the top-ranked in Nigeria. It has six faculties namely Medical Sciences, Arts, Management and Social Sciences, Engineering, Law and Science. Edo University Uzairue is one of Nigeria’s most modern campuses and boasts of state-of-the-art classrooms, laboratories and dormitories. With the aim of providing equal opportunities, there is a range of scholarship awards for students. Five students each year benefit from the Undergraduate Full Scholarship Award. The university recorded another milestone following the approval for the first clinical accreditation for the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Medicine (MBBS) program by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN). The approval was the outcome of the consideration of the report of the MDCN accreditation visit to the university in January 2021. With this feat, the College of Medical Sciences of the university is now qualified to conduct examinations in pharmacology and pathology for medical students. Vanguard