Universities, polytechnics and colleges of education to participate in new national ranking exercise
The Federal Government has made participation in Nigeria’s national tertiary education ranking exercise compulsory for universities, polytechnics and colleges of education across the country.
The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, announced the policy shift in Abuja on Tuesday during a meeting with the Nigerian Universities Ranking Advisory Committee (NURAC).
Following the expansion of its mandate, the committee has been renamed the Nigerian Tertiary Education Ranking Advisory Committee.
According to Alausa, the broader ranking framework forms part of the education reforms of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and is being implemented through the Nigeria Education Sector Renewal Initiative (NESRI).
Ranking Exercise to Measure Institutional Performance
The minister said the initiative is aimed at improving quality, accountability and institutional performance, while strengthening the global competitiveness of Nigeria’s tertiary education sector.
He explained that the ranking system would provide institutions with measurable benchmarks for assessing their performance, identifying weaknesses and monitoring improvements.
The exercise is also expected to promote healthy competition among institutions and encourage them to continuously improve their educational standards.
2026/2027 University Ranking to Begin in September
A statement issued by the minister’s Special Adviser on Media and Communications, Ikharo Attah, said the 2026/2027 ranking exercise for universities would commence in September.
Alausa added that the expanded committee would determine the appropriate timeline for extending the exercise to polytechnics and colleges of education.
The Federal Government is expected to finance the ranking exercise through the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).
The ministry will also develop guidelines to institutionalise the ranking process and formally notify vice-chancellors and heads of other tertiary institutions that participation is compulsory.
Ministry Highlights Benefits of Ranking
The Minister of State for Education, Professor Suwaiba Sa’id Ahmad, described the initiative as an important step towards improving accountability and quality across Nigeria’s tertiary education sector.
She said healthy competition would encourage institutions to assess their performance, identify gaps and take steps to improve the quality of education they provide.
Suwaiba stressed that the ranking exercise would cover both public and private institutions, providing a mechanism for establishing and sustaining minimum standards across the sector.
She assured the committee of the ministry’s support, saying the exercise would help institutions identify their strengths and weaknesses and achieve measurable improvements as the country’s tertiary education system continues to expand.
Committee Welcomes Expanded Mandate
The Chairman of the Nigerian Universities Ranking Advisory Committee and former Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Emeritus Professor Peter Okebukola, said the committee’s engagement with the minister followed a memorandum congratulating President Tinubu’s administration on the increasing number of Nigerian universities gaining international recognition.
Okebukola said the committee had also urged the Federal Government to increase investment in university education to sustain and accelerate the progress recorded by Nigerian institutions.
He expressed optimism that sustained investment, improved institutional capacity and the new national ranking framework would help more Nigerian tertiary institutions advance in international rankings and compete with leading institutions globally.
FG Promises Funding and Capacity Building
Reaffirming the ministry’s commitment to the initiative, Alausa said the Federal Ministry of Education would provide the policy direction, funding and capacity-building support required to make the ranking exercise credible, sustainable and impactful.
The new framework is expected to give Nigerian tertiary institutions clearer performance benchmarks while encouraging continuous improvement across the sector.
