Thursday, October 1, 2026 - The Chairman of the Nigerian Tertiary Education Ranking Advisory Committee, Prof Peter Okebukola, has called for improved global academic reputation, research output and international collaboration among Nigerian universities after 29 institutions featured in the 2027 Times Higher Education World University Rankings.
Nigeria’s 29 ranked universities, up from 24 in the 2026
edition, gave the country the highest number of ranked institutions in
sub-Saharan Africa.
However, Okebukola said the increase should be matched by
stronger performance in key areas that influence global rankings.
Okebukola submitted his assessment of Nigeria’s performance
in the 2027 Times Higher Education World University Rankings released on
Wednesday.
The 2027 ranking placed 2,297 universities across 118
countries and territories, with Nigeria recording 29 institutions, the highest
number of ranked universities in sub-Saharan Africa, which has 69 institutions
in the latest ranking.
According to Okebukola, “the increase in the number of
Nigerian universities featured in the ranking should also prompt closer
attention to the areas where the country continues to lag.”
He identified global academic reputation as the single
biggest lever for improving Nigeria’s performance, noting that
reputation-related measures account for 33 per cent of the overall ranking
score.
He said, “Nigerian universities could improve their
international academic standing by participating more actively in international
conferences, undertaking joint research, attracting visiting professors and
strengthening links with academics and alumni in the diaspora.”
Okebukola, a former Executive Secretary of the National
Universities Commission, also called for improved research funding and
productivity, more accurate institutional data submission, increased doctoral
output, deeper international collaboration and mobility, stronger industry
engagement and patenting.
His assessment showed that Research Quality was Nigeria’s
strongest ranking pillar, with a mean score of 43.3, while Research Environment
and Teaching recorded mean scores of 13.9 and 20.6.
The latest ranking also showed that Covenant University, the
University of Ibadan and the University of Lagos jointly occupied Nigeria’s
highest position in the 801–1000 global band.
Covenant improved from the 1001–1200 band in 2026, while UI
and UNILAG retained their positions.
Four other Nigerian universities, Ahmadu Bello University,
Bayero University, Landmark University and the University of Ilorin, were
placed in the 1001–1200 band, taking the number of Nigerian universities in the
global top 1,200 to seven.
Okebukola noted that federal universities continued to
account for most of Nigeria’s institutions in the upper bands, with five of the
seven universities in the top 1,200 being federal institutions: the
Universities of Ibadan, Lagos and Ilorin, Ahmadu Bello University and Bayero
University.
He said the number of federal universities in the top 1,200
rose from three in 2026 to five in 2027, while their share of Nigeria’s
institutions in the band increased from 60 per cent to 71.4 per cent.
Overall, 19 federal universities, seven state universities
and three private universities were ranked.
Beyond the 29 ranked institutions, 32 Nigerian universities
were listed as Reporters, having submitted data but not met the requirements
for inclusion in the ranked table.
Sixteen of the Reporter institutions are private
universities, 12 are state-owned, and four are federal.
Okebukola said the results should serve as a diagnostic tool
for the Nigerian higher education system and provide empirical evidence for the
work of NiTERAC.
The development comes as Nigeria’s higher education sector
continues to expand, with global rankings increasingly measuring universities
against indicators covering teaching, research, knowledge transfer and
international outlook.
Times Higher Education World University Rankings describes
its rankings as an assessment of research-intensive universities across their
core missions.
Against this backdrop, Okebukola disclosed that NiTERAC had
commenced work on a national ranking of Nigerian universities, polytechnics and
colleges of education.
He said the exercise, initiated following a directive from
the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, is expected to be completed before
December 15, 2026, and is designed to stimulate healthy competition among
tertiary institutions while helping Nigeria improve its performance in global
rankings.
Okebukola said the national ranking would complement
international rankings while helping institutions identify gaps in areas
including research environment, doctoral output and academic reputation.
Speaking on the national ranking of universities,
polytechnics and colleges of education, Okebukola said universities would be
assessed using 22 indicators to improve Nigeria’s global competitiveness.
He also said the Federal Government has set December 15,
2026, as the deadline for completing its national ranking.
The exercise, coordinated by the Nigerian Tertiary Education
Ranking Advisory Committee, NiTERAC, under the Federal Ministry of Education,
is expected to establish a national framework for measuring institutional
performance, identifying areas of weakness and encouraging competition among
public and private tertiary institutions.
Okebukola said the ranking exercise followed a directive
from the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, and would cover all three
major categories of tertiary institutions.
He said, “As directed by the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji
Alausa, the Nigerian Tertiary Education Ranking Advisory Committee has started
the process of the 2026 ranking of Nigerian universities, polytechnics and
colleges of education.
“The national ranking is intended to stimulate healthy
internal competition among Nigerian tertiary institutions and to position the
Nigerian tertiary education system for improved global ranking in the coming
years.
“The university ranking will use 22 indicators, with
weightings agreed with the League of Directors of Academic Planning, and the
three sub-sector rankings are scheduled for completion before 15 December 2026.
Section 13 describes the exercise.”
The exercise represents an expansion of the government’s
approach to assessing tertiary education, moving beyond universities to include
polytechnics and colleges of education.
The inclusion of the three subsectors is expected to provide
a broader picture of institutional performance across Nigeria’s tertiary
education system, although the different mandates of the institutions will
require indicators suited to their respective functions.
Universities traditionally place considerable emphasis on
research, postgraduate training and knowledge production, while polytechnics
focus more heavily on technical and applied skills.
Colleges of education, meanwhile, play a central role in
teacher preparation and professional development.
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