The Federal Government has made participation in Nigeria’s national tertiary education ranking exercise compulsory for all universities, polytechnics and colleges of education in the country.
The Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, CON, announced the decision in Abuja while meeting with the Nigerian Universities Ranking Advisory Committee (NURAC), whose mandate has now been expanded to cover the entire tertiary education system and renamed the Nigerian Tertiary Education Ranking Advisory Committee.
Alausa said the expanded ranking framework was part of the Federal Government’s ongoing education reforms under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and the Nigeria Education Sector Renewal Initiative (NESRI).
According to him, the ranking will provide institutions with clear benchmarks for assessing performance, identifying weaknesses, measuring progress and promoting healthy competition across the tertiary education sector.
He announced that the 2026/2027 ranking exercise for universities would begin in September, while the committee would determine the appropriate timeline for extending the exercise to polytechnics and colleges of education.
The minister also said the Federal Government would provide funding for the exercise through the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), develop guidelines to institutionalise the ranking process and formally notify vice-chancellors and heads of other tertiary institutions that participation is mandatory.
Alausa said the Ministry would also support in service training and institutional capacity building programmes to strengthen the ability of institutions to participate effectively in the ranking exercise.
Earlier, the Minister of State for Education, Professor Suwaiba Sa’id Ahmad, described the expanded ranking framework as an important step towards improving accountability and quality across Nigeria’s tertiary education system.
She said healthy competition would encourage institutions to assess their performance, address identified gaps and continuously improve the quality of education they provide.
Suwaiba stressed that both public and private institutions should be covered by the exercise, saying it would help establish and maintain minimum standards across the sector.
Also speaking, Chairman of the committee and former Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Emeritus Professor Peter Okebukola, said the expansion followed a memorandum submitted to the Federal Government congratulating the Tinubu administration on the growing number of Nigerian universities gaining international recognition.
Okebukola said the committee had initially advocated greater investment in university education, but the minister’s response went further by expanding its mandate to include polytechnics and colleges of education.
He expressed optimism that sustained investment, stronger institutional capacity and the new national ranking framework would enable more Nigerian tertiary institutions to improve their positions in international rankings and compete more effectively with leading institutions globally.
Alausa reiterated the Ministry’s commitment to providing the policy direction, funding and capacity building support needed to make the ranking exercise credible, sustainable and impactful.
He said the government expects the initiative to contribute to measurable improvements in institutional performance and lead to significantly greater global recognition for Nigerian tertiary institutions in subsequent international ranking exercises.
The Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, CON, announced the decision in Abuja while meeting with the Nigerian Universities Ranking Advisory Committee (NURAC), whose mandate has now been expanded to cover the entire tertiary education system and renamed the Nigerian Tertiary Education Ranking Advisory Committee.
Alausa said the expanded ranking framework was part of the Federal Government’s ongoing education reforms under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and the Nigeria Education Sector Renewal Initiative (NESRI).
According to him, the ranking will provide institutions with clear benchmarks for assessing performance, identifying weaknesses, measuring progress and promoting healthy competition across the tertiary education sector.
He announced that the 2026/2027 ranking exercise for universities would begin in September, while the committee would determine the appropriate timeline for extending the exercise to polytechnics and colleges of education.
The minister also said the Federal Government would provide funding for the exercise through the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), develop guidelines to institutionalise the ranking process and formally notify vice-chancellors and heads of other tertiary institutions that participation is mandatory.
Alausa said the Ministry would also support in service training and institutional capacity building programmes to strengthen the ability of institutions to participate effectively in the ranking exercise.
Earlier, the Minister of State for Education, Professor Suwaiba Sa’id Ahmad, described the expanded ranking framework as an important step towards improving accountability and quality across Nigeria’s tertiary education system.
She said healthy competition would encourage institutions to assess their performance, address identified gaps and continuously improve the quality of education they provide.
Suwaiba stressed that both public and private institutions should be covered by the exercise, saying it would help establish and maintain minimum standards across the sector.
Also speaking, Chairman of the committee and former Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Emeritus Professor Peter Okebukola, said the expansion followed a memorandum submitted to the Federal Government congratulating the Tinubu administration on the growing number of Nigerian universities gaining international recognition.
Okebukola said the committee had initially advocated greater investment in university education, but the minister’s response went further by expanding its mandate to include polytechnics and colleges of education.
He expressed optimism that sustained investment, stronger institutional capacity and the new national ranking framework would enable more Nigerian tertiary institutions to improve their positions in international rankings and compete more effectively with leading institutions globally.
Alausa reiterated the Ministry’s commitment to providing the policy direction, funding and capacity building support needed to make the ranking exercise credible, sustainable and impactful.
He said the government expects the initiative to contribute to measurable improvements in institutional performance and lead to significantly greater global recognition for Nigerian tertiary institutions in subsequent international ranking exercises.
