Nigeria sets December 2026 deadline for national tertiary education ranking
The Federal Government plans to complete a nationwide ranking of universities, polytechnics and colleges of education by December 15, 2026. Universities will be assessed against 22 indicators, with the exercise intended to create domestic benchmarks, expose weaknesses and encourage stronger institutional performance.
The Federal Government has set December 15, 2026, as the deadline for completing a national ranking of Nigeria’s universities, polytechnics and colleges of education. The exercise is being coordinated by the Nigerian Tertiary Education Ranking Advisory Committee under the Federal Ministry of Education. Committee chairman Peter Okebukola disclosed the plan in a presentation on Nigeria’s performance in the 2027 Times Higher Education World University Rankings.
Okebukola said the ranking followed a directive from Education Minister Tunji Alausa and would cover the country’s three main categories of tertiary institution. Universities will be assessed using 22 indicators, with the weightings agreed with the League of Directors of Academic Planning. According to the committee chairman, the national exercise is intended to encourage healthy competition, identify institutional weaknesses and improve Nigeria’s prospects in global rankings.
It will also give institutions a domestic benchmark for measuring performance and planning improvements. The government’s decision expands the assessment beyond universities to include polytechnics and colleges of education. The rankings are expected to involve data collection, validation and finalisation of the assessment framework before the deadline.
Okebukola’s presentation said 29 Nigerian universities appeared in the 2027 Times Higher Education rankings, compared with 24 in the previous edition. Nigeria was the most represented country in sub-Saharan Africa in that edition, while the University of Ibadan, University of Lagos and Covenant University were placed in the global 801–1,000 band. However, 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 output, data management and international collaboration as areas requiring sustained attention, alongside teaching, research quality, industry engagement and international outlook.
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