By Ade Oyeyemi
The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, has directed the Nigeria Tertiary Education Ranking Advisory Committee, headed by Professor Peter Okebukola, to commence the 2026 ranking of universities, polytechnics and colleges of education across the country.
The directive comes amid a rise in the number of Nigerian universities featuring in global university rankings.
The Federal Ministry of Education disclosed this in a statement issued on Thursday by its Director of Press and Public Relations, Folasade Boriowo.
The ministry said 29 Nigerian universities were featured in the 2027 Times Higher Education World University Rankings, compared with 24 institutions in the 2026 edition.
It said the figure represented the highest number of universities from any country in sub-Saharan Africa, with five Nigerian institutions making the global ranking for the first time.
According to the ministry, the national ranking framework being developed by NiTERAC, in consultation with relevant stakeholders, will evaluate tertiary institutions using 22 indicators.
The framework is expected to promote healthy competition among institutions, improve their visibility and strengthen their capacity to compete at the international level.
The ministry attributed the increased representation of Nigerian universities in global rankings to ongoing reforms under the leadership of Alausa, particularly initiatives targeting research, innovation, institutional performance and international competitiveness.
It said the reforms were being implemented under the Nigerian Education Sector Renewal Initiative.
Giving details of Nigeria’s performance in the latest THE ranking, the ministry said federal universities accounted for a significant share of the institutions that improved their positions.
It stated that five of the seven Nigerian universities placed within the global top 1,200 were federal institutions.
The University of Ibadan and the University of Lagos retained their positions in the 801–1000 category, while Ahmadu Bello University and the University of Ilorin moved into the 1001–1200 bracket, joining Bayero University, which retained its position there.
Covenant University also maintained its position within the 801–1000 category.
The ministry added that federal universities occupied all six Nigerian positions in the 1401–1600 category.
Five of the seven Nigerian universities that recorded notable upward movement were federal institutions. They were Ahmadu Bello University, the University of Ilorin, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Obafemi Awolowo University and the University of Benin.
Beyond the 29 universities included in the global ranking, the ministry said another 32 Nigerian universities appeared in THE Reporter category.
This brought the total number of Nigerian universities participating in or featured in the ranking exercise to 61.
The ministry said Research Quality emerged as the strongest performance area for Nigerian universities in the 2027 ranking.
However, it identified Research Environment and Teaching as areas requiring further improvement.
It said sustained progress would depend on improvements in academic reputation, research output, productivity, doctoral programmes, international collaboration and the quality of institutional data submitted for ranking exercises.
The ministry described participation in global university rankings as more than a matter of international recognition, saying the process could help institutions benchmark their performance, identify weaknesses and pursue continuous improvement.
It reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to reforms aimed at improving research excellence, teaching standards, innovation, international collaboration and the global competitiveness of Nigerian tertiary institutions.
