The Federal Government has set December 15, 2026, as the deadline for completing the national ranking of universities, polytechnics and colleges of education across Nigeria.
The exercise, coordinated by the Nigerian Tertiary Education Ranking Advisory Committee under the Federal Ministry of Education, is aimed at establishing a national framework for assessing institutional performance, identifying areas for improvement and promoting healthy competition among tertiary institutions.
Chairman of NiTERAC, Prof. Peter Okebukola, disclosed this in a presentation on Nigeria’s performance in the 2027 Times Higher Education World University Rankings, dated September 30, 2026.
Okebukola said the ranking was being conducted following a directive from the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, and would cover the three major categories of tertiary institutions.
He explained that the university ranking would be based on 22 indicators, with the weightings agreed upon with the League of Directors of Academic Planning. He added that the rankings for the three subsectors were expected to be completed before December 15, 2026.
According to him, the national ranking is designed to encourage healthy competition among Nigerian tertiary institutions and support efforts to improve the country’s position in global university rankings.
The initiative also expands the government’s assessment approach beyond universities to include polytechnics and colleges of education.
Nigeria’s performance in the 2027 Times Higher Education World University Rankings was cited as a reference point for the exercise. According to the presentation, 29 Nigerian universities were included in the latest rankings, up from 24 in the previous edition, making Nigeria the most represented country in sub-Saharan Africa.
The University of Ibadan, University of Lagos and Covenant University were placed in the global 801–1,000 band, while four other Nigerian universities appeared in the 1,001–1,200 category.
Another 32 Nigerian universities were listed under the Reporter category, bringing the total number of institutions that submitted data or participated in the ranking process to 61.
The Reporter category applies to institutions that have submitted data but do not meet one or more requirements for inclusion in the ranked tables.
The presentation further noted that only 29 of the 328 universities listed by the National Universities Commission were included in the ranked category. It identified research funding, publication output, institutional data management and international collaboration as areas requiring greater attention.
Differences in teaching quality, research performance, industry engagement and international outlook were also highlighted among the institutions.
The national ranking is expected to give Nigerian tertiary institutions a domestic benchmark for assessing their performance, identifying gaps and developing strategies for improvement.
The exercise will involve data collection, validation and finalisation of the assessment framework ahead of the December 15, 2026 deadline.
