Covenant University has once again topped the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2024. The ranking, which evaluates colleges based on a variety of performance measures, put the Ota-based university ahead of other prominent Nigerian universities, maintaining its status as a higher education leader.
The rankings surveyed 1,907 universities across 108 countries and assessed the institutions based on 18 performance indicators across five key areas: teaching, research environment, research quality, industry, and international outlook.
Covenant University emerged as Nigeria’s best, outperforming the University of Ibadan, the Federal University of Technology Akure, and the University of Lagos, which ranked second, third, and fourth respectively.
The 2024 list also reflects a shift in the global higher education scene, analyzing more than 134 million citations from 16.5 million academic articles and collecting survey responses from over 68,000 experts worldwide.
Other Nigerian universities in the top 10 are Bayero University, University of Ilorin, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and Afe Babalola University. The Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta also secured a slot in the top tier, securing tenth position.
In a different development, Tizi Hodson, 70, from Lincolnshire, United Kingdom, has finally received a response to a job application she filed nearly 50 years ago.
It was learnt that Hodson applied for a career as a motorcycle stunt rider in 1976, a role she was really interested in, but after not hearing back for a long time, she felt her application was unsuccessful.
Nearly 48 years later, she was surprised to discover that her letter had been hidden beneath a drawer at a post office all along.
The discovery was made during renovations at the Staines Post Office, where personnel discovered the long-forgotten letter and returned it to Hodson with a message.
The notification stated, "Late delivery by Staines Post Office." Located behind a drawer. "Only about 50 years later."
This unexpected response placed an end to a riddle that had persisted for over half a century.
Hodson, who had long since given up on her dream of becoming a motorbike stunt rider, found the news amusing.
"I've always puzzled why I didn't hear back about the job. "Now I understand why," she said, thinking on how life had taken her in different directions.
Despite missing out on the opportunity to follow her stunt-riding dreams, Hodson's life unfolded in spectacular ways she could never have imagined.
Over the years, she established a career of adventure, working as a snake handler, horse whisperer, aerobatic pilot, and even a flying instructor.
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