The Federal Government has set December 15, 2026, as the deadline for completing the national ranking of universities, polytechnics and colleges of education in Nigeria.
The exercise is being coordinated by the Nigerian Tertiary Education Ranking Advisory Committee under the Federal Ministry of Education.
The ranking is expected to provide a framework for measuring the performance of tertiary institutions, identifying areas that need improvement and encouraging competition among public and private institutions.
The 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.
According to Okebukola, the exercise followed a directive from the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, and would cover universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.
He said, ‘As directed by the Honourable Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, the Nigerian Tertiary Education Ranking Advisory Committee has started the process of the 2026 ranking of Nigerian universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.
‘The national ranking is intended to stimulate healthy internal competition among Nigerian tertiary institutions and to position the Nigerian tertiary education system for improved global ranking in the coming years.
‘The university ranking will use 22 indicators, with weightings agreed with the League of Directors of Academic Planning, and the three sub-sector rankings are scheduled for completion before 15 December 2026. Section 13 describes the exercise.’
The exercise will assess all three major categories of tertiary institutions, expanding the government’s ranking system beyond universities.
Nigeria’s performance in the 2027 Times Higher Education World University Rankings was also highlighted in Okebukola’s presentation.
According to the presentation, 29 Nigerian universities featured in the rankings, compared with 24 in the previous edition. This made 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 were placed in the 1,001-1,200 category.
Another 32 Nigerian universities were listed in the Reporter category, bringing the number of institutions that submitted data or engaged with the ranking process to 61.
Reporter status means an institution provided data but did not meet one or more requirements for inclusion in the ranked tables.
The presentation noted that only 29 of the 328 universities listed by the National Universities Commission appeared in the ranked category.
It identified research funding, publication productivity, institutional data management and international collaboration as areas that require attention.
It also noted differences among institutions in teaching, research quality, industry engagement and international outlook.
The national ranking is expected to give tertiary institutions a domestic benchmark for measuring their performance, identifying gaps and planning improvements.
The exercise will involve data collection, validation and finalisation of the assessment framework ahead of the December 15, 2026 deadline.