The Federal Government has commenced a comprehensive national ranking exercise for universities, polytechnics and colleges of education, setting December 15, 2026, as the deadline for completing the assessment of the three major categories of tertiary institutions in Nigeria.
The exercise, being coordinated by the Nigerian Tertiary Education Ranking Advisory Committee under the Federal Ministry of Education, is designed to establish a national framework for measuring institutional performance, identifying weaknesses and encouraging healthy competition among tertiary institutions.
The initiative is also expected to support efforts to improve the quality and international competitiveness of Nigeria’s tertiary education system by providing institutions with clear benchmarks for assessing their performance.
Chairman of the Nigerian Tertiary Education Ranking Advisory Committee, Prof. Peter Okebukola, disclosed details of the exercise in a presentation on Nigeria’s performance in the 2027 Times Higher Education World University Rankings.
The presentation, dated September 30, 2026, was made available to The PUNCH.
According to Okebukola, the national ranking exercise was initiated following a directive from the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, and would cover universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.
He explained that the exercise was intended not only to compare institutions but also to stimulate improvements across the tertiary education sector.
“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,” Okebukola stated.
He added that the national ranking was designed to stimulate healthy internal competition among Nigerian tertiary institutions while helping to position the country’s tertiary education system for improved performance in global rankings.
The university component of the exercise will be based on 22 indicators, with the weightings reportedly agreed with the League of Directors of Academic Planning.
The three subsector rankings are expected to be completed before December 15, 2026.
The inclusion of polytechnics and colleges of education represents a broader approach to institutional assessment, moving beyond the traditional concentration on universities.
The Federal Government’s decision comes against the backdrop of Nigeria’s performance in the latest Times Higher Education World University Rankings, which provides an international reference point for assessing the country’s progress in higher education.
According to Okebukola’s presentation, 29 Nigerian universities were included in the 2027 Times Higher Education rankings, compared with 24 institutions in the previous edition.
The increase means Nigeria had the highest number of represented institutions among countries in sub-Saharan Africa in the latest edition.
The University of Ibadan, University of Lagos and Covenant University were placed within the global 801–1,000 band.
Four additional Nigerian universities were placed in the 1,001–1,200 category.
Beyond the institutions included in the ranked tables, another 32 Nigerian universities were listed in the Reporter category.
This brought the total number of Nigerian universities that either submitted data or engaged with the ranking process to 61.
Reporter status generally applies to institutions that have provided information to the ranking body but do not meet one or more of the requirements necessary for inclusion in the ranked tables.
The figures nevertheless reveal a substantial gap between the number of universities participating in the international ranking process and the total number of universities in the country.
The presentation noted that only 29 of the 328 universities listed by the National Universities Commission appeared in the ranked category.
The national ranking exercise is therefore expected to provide a broader domestic assessment framework through which institutions can measure their performance regardless of whether they feature prominently in international rankings.
One of the key objectives is to enable institutions to identify areas of weakness and develop strategies for improvement.
According to the presentation, several areas require sustained attention if Nigerian tertiary institutions are to improve their international standing.
These include research funding, publication productivity, institutional data management and international collaboration.
The assessment also identified differences among institutions in areas such as teaching, research quality, engagement with industry and international outlook.
Research funding remains particularly important because the capacity of universities to conduct high-quality research is closely connected to the availability of financial resources, research infrastructure and opportunities for collaboration.
Similarly, publication productivity and research quality are significant components of international university assessments.
Institutional data management is also expected to play an important role in the new national ranking system. Accurate and verifiable institutional data would be required to ensure that universities and other tertiary institutions are assessed on consistent criteria.
The emphasis on international collaboration also reflects the Federal Government’s objective of improving the global visibility of Nigerian institutions.
Collaboration with foreign universities, international research networks and other academic institutions can expand opportunities for joint research, academic exchange and knowledge transfer.
The national ranking exercise is consequently expected to go beyond simply producing a league table of institutions.
Rather, the framework is intended to provide universities, polytechnics and colleges of education with benchmarks that can assist institutional managers, academic planners and policymakers in identifying areas requiring intervention.
The exercise could also provide the Federal Ministry of Education with comparative information about the performance of different categories of tertiary institutions across the country.
For institutional administrators, the ranking may offer an opportunity to examine their performance against measurable indicators and develop improvement plans based on identified gaps.
The expansion to polytechnics and colleges of education is particularly significant given the different mandates of the three categories of institutions.
Universities traditionally place greater emphasis on degree-level education and research, while polytechnics are expected to provide technical and technological education and colleges of education focus substantially on teacher preparation.
A national ranking system covering all three categories will therefore have to take account of the distinct missions and functions of each subsector.
The Federal Government’s plan to complete the three rankings before December 15 means that the process will have to move through several stages, including data collection, verification, analysis and finalisation of the assessment framework.
The use of 22 indicators for universities is expected to provide a multidimensional assessment rather than relying on a single measure of institutional performance.
The exercise also comes at a time when Nigerian universities are seeking greater visibility in international rankings.
While the increase from 24 to 29 Nigerian universities in the latest Times Higher Education ranking represents broader representation, the relatively small proportion of Nigerian universities appearing in the ranked category remains an issue for policymakers and institutional leaders.
The national ranking could consequently serve as an additional mechanism for encouraging institutions to improve their performance before seeking stronger positions in global assessments.
Okebukola said the ultimate objective was to stimulate healthy competition within the Nigerian tertiary education system and create conditions that would support improved global rankings in the years ahead.
With the December 15 deadline approaching, universities, polytechnics and colleges of education are expected to participate in the data submission and validation processes required for the exercise.
The outcome will provide the Federal Government with a national picture of institutional performance across the three major tertiary education subsectors and could become a reference point for future policy, planning and quality improvement initiatives.
The ranking is therefore expected to mark a significant step in the government’s attempt to establish measurable domestic benchmarks for tertiary education, while encouraging institutions to strengthen teaching, research, innovation, industry engagement and international collaboration.
