KRG’s Higher Education Ministry releases university rankings

The Kurdistan Region’s Ministry of Higher Education (MHE) on Wednesday announced the rankings of the region’s public and private universities, separately, with the University of Kurdistan-Hewler (UKH) topping the list for the former and University of Human Development (UHD) for the latter.

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Region’s Ministry of Higher Education (MHE) on Wednesday announced the rankings of the region’s public and private universities, separately, with the University of Kurdistan-Hewler (UKH) topping the list for the former and University of Human Development (UHD) for the latter.

The rankings were read by the MHE Minister, Yousif Goran, in a special event in Erbil attended by various diplomats, local officials, and staff from select universities. A more detailed breakdown was later posted on the MHE’s website.

The MHE assessed the universities based on eight primary criteria and 43 secondary ones, all of which were compiled to provide overall scores, giving each institution their final ranking.

The eight primary criteria were scientific research, academic staff, international activities, students’ feedback, quality assurance, cultural activities and social relations, library and access to scientific sources, and employment opportunities after graduation, according to an MHE statement on their website.

The rankings for the 43 secondary criteria were not released.

UKH, described by its vice-chancellor Dr. Mohammed Mochtar as a “public non-profit” university, ranked first in the four categories of scientific research, international activities, library and access to scientific sources, as well as employment opportunities after graduation.

“We are proud that we rank the top university in the entire Kurdistan Region,” said Dr. Mochtar in a statement published on their website.

The private UHD, located in Sulaimani, topped the five criteria of scientific research, international activities, quality assurance, cultural activities and social relations, library and access to scientific sources.

The university was established by Ali al-Qaradaghi, an influential Sunni-Islam scholar with international accreditation, who is also the president of the board of trustees of the UHD.

UHD president, Dr. Mariwan Rashid, congratulated the students and staff of the university and commended Qaradaghi for his efforts in improving the institution’s standards.

Although the exact meaning of the MHE statement is unclear, when considering the 43 other factors, the overall rankings deliver a different result than those provided by the main criteria scoring, with the top six public universities being:

Salahaddin University – Erbil
University of Sulaimani
Soran University
UKH
Koya University
Hawler Medical University

For the overall scores, universities were divided into three groups, with these six institutions coming in at the top.

For private universities, the leading group was:

The American University of Iraq – Sulaimani
Ishik University
Cihan University
UHD
Komar University of Science and Technology
Nawroz University

Editing by Nadia Riva