By - Federal Government to rank all Nigerian universities, polytechnics and colleges of education by December 15, 2026, using 22 indicators for universities
- Exercise led by NiTERAC under Education Minister Tunji Alausa’s directive, aims to spur competition and lift Nigeria’s global standing
- Comes as Nigeria’s 2027 Times Higher Education rankings show 29 universities featured globally, up from 24 the previous year, though only 29 of 328 NUC-recognised universities made the ranked table
The Federal Government has given itself until December 15, 2026, to complete a first-of-its-kind national ranking exercise covering every category of Nigerian tertiary institution, universities, polytechnics and colleges of education alike, in a push to sharpen competition and performance across the sector.
The exercise is being coordinated by the Nigerian Tertiary Education Ranking Advisory Committee, working under the Federal Ministry of Education. Its chairman, Prof. Peter Okebukola, laid out the scope of the project in a presentation on Nigeria’s showing in the 2027 Times Higher Education World University Rankings, describing the ranking as a response to a directive from Education Minister Dr Tunji Alausa. According to Okebukola, universities specifically will be scored against 22 indicators, with weightings agreed alongside the League of Directors of Academic Planning, while all three sub-sector rankings are expected to wrap up before the mid-December deadline.
The initiative marks a widening of how the government evaluates tertiary education, moving past a narrow focus on universities to bring polytechnics and colleges of education into a single national assessment framework for the first time.
A Domestic Ranking Shaped by Global Numbers
Okebukola’s presentation used Nigeria’s performance in the latest Times Higher Education rankings as a backdrop for the domestic exercise. The country had 29 universities appear in the 2027 edition, up from 24 previously, making it the most represented nation in sub-Saharan Africa on that list. Of those, the University of Ibadan, the University of Lagos and Covenant University landed in the global 801-1,000 band, with four additional Nigerian universities placed in the 1,001-1,200 range.
A further 32 universities were listed under Reporter status, meaning they submitted data to the rankings process without meeting every requirement needed to appear in the fully ranked tables. Combined, that puts the total number of Nigerian institutions engaging with the global ranking process at 61, though Okebukola noted that just 29 of the 328 universities recognised by the National Universities Commission actually made it into the ranked category itself, a gap that underlines how much of the sector remains outside internationally competitive benchmarks.
Where the Gaps Lie
The presentation flagged several areas the sector needs to address if more institutions are to break into ranked territory going forward, pointing to research funding, publication output, institutional data management and international collaboration as persistent weak points. It also noted uneven performance across institutions in teaching quality, research standards, industry engagement and international outlook, differences the national ranking exercise is partly designed to surface and address at a domestic level.
Once complete, the ranking is meant to give Nigerian tertiary institutions a local benchmark against which to measure themselves, identify specific weaknesses, and plan targeted improvements ahead of future global assessments. The process between now and the December deadline will involve further data collection, validation, and finalising the assessment framework itself.
