The Federal Government has expanded Nigeria’s national tertiary education ranking framework to cover universities, polytechnics and colleges of education, with participation now made compulsory for all institutions nationwide.
The Honourable Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, announced this on Monday in Abuja during a meeting with the Nigerian Universities Ranking Advisory Committee (NURAC), which has now been renamed the Nigerian Tertiary Education Ranking Advisory Committee.
Dr. Alausa said the expanded framework is part of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s education reforms under the Renewed Hope Agenda, being implemented through the Nigeria Education Sector Renewal Initiative (NESRI).
According to him, the objective is to strengthen quality, accountability, institutional performance and global competitiveness across Nigeria’s tertiary education system.
“The ranking will provide institutions with clear benchmarks for assessing their performance, identifying areas requiring improvement and measuring progress, while promoting healthy competition and continuous institutional advancement,” the Minister stated in a statement by Attah Ikharo, Special Adviser on Media and Communications.
Dr. Alausa announced that the 2026/2027 ranking exercise for universities will commence in September 2026, while the committee will determine the appropriate timeline for extending the exercise to polytechnics and colleges of education.
He added that the Federal Government will provide funding through TETFund, develop guidelines to institutionalise the exercise, and formally communicate to vice-chancellors and heads of other tertiary institutions that participation is compulsory.
Reassuring the committee, Dr. Alausa pledged that the Federal Ministry of Education would provide the policy direction, funding and capacity-building support required to make the ranking credible, sustainable and impactful.
He said the Ministry would work with the committee to facilitate in-service training and institutional capacity-building programmes, with the expectation that more Nigerian institutions would achieve greater global recognition in subsequent international rankings.
The Minister of State for Education, Professor Suwaiba Sa’id Ahmad, described the initiative as a significant step towards strengthening accountability and quality in the sector.
She said healthy competition was essential to encourage institutions to assess their performance and address gaps.
“The ranking exercise should cover both public and private institutions. It will provide a mechanism for establishing and maintaining minimum standards across the sector,” she said, assuring the committee of the Ministry’s full support.
Emeritus Professor Peter Okebukola, Chairman of NURAC and former Executive Secretary of the NUC, said the committee had written to congratulate the Tinubu administration on the increasing number of Nigerian universities gaining global recognition and to urge greater investment in university education.
He noted that the Minister’s response went beyond the proposal, leading to the expansion of NURAC’s mandate to include polytechnics and colleges of education.
“We are optimistic that sustained investment, stronger institutional capacity and the new national ranking framework will enable more Nigerian institutions to make significant progress in international rankings and compete confidently with leading institutions globally,” Professor Okebukola said.
Reassuring the committee, Dr. Alausa pledged that the Federal Ministry of Education would provide the policy direction, funding and capacity-building support required to make the ranking credible, sustainable and impactful.
He said the Ministry would work with the committee to facilitate in-service training and institutional capacity-building programmes, with the expectation that more Nigerian institutions would achieve greater global recognition in subsequent international rankings.