By Adeola Kunle
The Federal Government has expanded Nigeria’s national tertiary education ranking system to include universities, polytechnics and colleges of education, with all institutions now required to participate in the exercise.
The Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, CON, disclosed this in Abuja during a meeting with members of the Nigerian Universities Ranking Advisory Committee (NURAC), which has now been expanded and renamed the Nigerian Tertiary Education Ranking Advisory Committee.
Dr. Alausa explained that the broader ranking framework was part of the education reforms of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration under the Renewed Hope Agenda, being implemented through the Nigeria Education Sector Renewal Initiative (NESRI).
According to him, the initiative is designed to improve quality, accountability and institutional performance while strengthening the ability of Nigerian tertiary institutions to compete internationally.
He noted that the ranking system would give institutions measurable benchmarks for evaluating their performance, identifying areas that require improvement and monitoring their progress over time. It would also encourage healthy competition among institutions and promote continuous improvement across the tertiary education sector.
The Minister announced that the 2026/2027 university ranking exercise would begin in September, while the committee would determine a suitable timetable for extending the exercise to polytechnics and colleges of education.
He further stated that the Federal Government would provide funding for the initiative through the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) and develop appropriate guidelines to formally establish the ranking system.
Dr. Alausa added that the Ministry would communicate officially with vice-chancellors and heads of other tertiary institutions to inform them that participation in the ranking exercise is compulsory.
Speaking at the meeting, the Minister of State for Education, Professor Suwaiba Sa’id Ahmad, described the development as an important step towards improving accountability and quality throughout Nigeria’s tertiary education system.
Professor Suwaiba said competition among institutions would encourage them to evaluate their performance, identify weaknesses and take practical steps towards improving the quality of education they provide.
She emphasised that both public and private tertiary institutions should be covered by the ranking system, saying it would provide an important mechanism for establishing and sustaining minimum standards across the sector.
The Minister of State assured the committee of the Ministry’s full backing, noting that the ranking exercise would enable institutions to clearly identify their strengths and weaknesses and use the findings to achieve measurable improvements as Nigeria’s tertiary education sector continues to grow.
Also speaking, Emeritus Professor Peter Okebukola, Chairman of the Nigerian Universities Ranking Advisory Committee and former Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), explained the circumstances that led to the committee’s engagement with the Minister.
Professor Okebukola said the committee had earlier submitted a memorandum congratulating President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration on the growing number of Nigerian universities receiving international recognition.
The memorandum also called for increased investment in university education to sustain and accelerate the progress already being recorded.
He explained that the Minister’s response went beyond the committee’s original proposal by expanding its mandate to include polytechnics and colleges of education.
The development consequently transformed NURAC into the Nigerian Tertiary Education Ranking Advisory Committee, with responsibility for providing guidance on ranking across the wider tertiary education system.
Professor Okebukola expressed confidence that sustained government investment, improved institutional capacity and the introduction of a comprehensive national ranking framework would help more Nigerian tertiary institutions improve their positions in international rankings.
He said the development would also enable Nigerian institutions to compete more effectively with leading universities and other higher education institutions around the world.
Reaffirming the Federal Ministry of Education’s commitment to the initiative, Dr. Alausa said the Ministry would provide the necessary policy direction, funding and capacity-building support to ensure that the ranking exercise is credible, sustainable and capable of producing meaningful results.
He disclosed that the Ministry would collaborate with the committee to organise in-service training and institutional capacity-building programmes for tertiary institutions.
The Minister expressed the expectation that the combined measures would lead to significant improvements in the performance of Nigerian tertiary institutions and increase the number of institutions gaining greater recognition in future international ranking exercises.
Adeola Kunle
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