Takoradi Polytechnic has been ranked the first among polytechnics in Ghana for the second time running by the world universities ranking body, Webomatics, the largest public research body known for its scientific methods in web ranking.
The Polytechnic maintained its 2012 first position among polytechnics in Ghana and placed third in Sub-Saharan Africa, coming after Auchi Polytechnic and Yaba College of Technology, both in Nigeria.
A statement from the Public Relations Unit of the polytechnic said the Webometrics ranking of world universities, released in January this year, also rated Takoradi Polytechnic as the 160th best out of 529 universities and polytechnics in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).
Kumasi, Cape Coast, Koforidua and Accra polytechnics followed in that order in Ghana but they placed 305th, 331st, 392nd and 470th respectively in the SSA ranking.
The Webometrics ranking takes into account factors such as the quality of academic papers published in high impact international journals indicative of the commitment of the scholars with their students and the number of rich files published on dedicated websites according to the academic search engine Google Scholar.
Reverend Prof. Daniel A. Nyarko, Rector of the Polytechnic, said achieving that feat and others were not surprising taking into account the high quality of academic excellence programmes and research work being pursued by lecturers and students alike.
Such high performances would definitely bring laurels to the institution, he said.
He said: “In November 2012, Takoradi Polytechnic was ranked 1st for upholding high excellence in examination ethics and practices by Exams Ethics Marshalls International.
“Again, the introduction of industry-focused programmes and the establishment of modern laboratories to train the youth for careers in the emerging oil and gas and other allied industries placed the institution above her competitors to merit such recognition.”
Prof. Nyarko, therefore, encouraged faculty members to keep up the stream of research and publication of high and relevant academic materials in internationally-recognized journals and make quality presentations at reputable conferences to sustain and improve on the ranking.
The full list of rankings is available at: www.webomatics.info/en/sub-saharan.
