The Federal Government has made participation in Nigeria’s national tertiary education ranking exercise compulsory for universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.
The Political Head of the Federal Ministry of Education, Minister Tunji Alausa, announced the policy in Abuja on Monday during a meeting with the Nigerian Universities Ranking Advisory Committee (NURAC).
The committee has been expanded and renamed the Nigerian Tertiary Education Ranking Advisory Committee, reflecting its broader mandate across the tertiary education system.
Alausa said the ranking framework would give tertiary institutions clear benchmarks for assessing their performance, identifying areas requiring improvement and tracking their progress.
He disclosed that the 2026/2027 ranking exercise for universities would begin in September, while the committee would determine when the process would be extended to polytechnics and colleges of education.
The minister said the government would develop guidelines to institutionalise the exercise and formally notify Vice-Chancellors and heads of other tertiary institutions about the compulsory participation policy.
Funding support for the exercise is expected through the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).
Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmad, described the move as a significant step towards strengthening accountability and quality across Nigeria’s tertiary education system.
She said the ranking should cover both public and private institutions, noting that healthy competition would encourage schools to examine their strengths and weaknesses, close identified gaps and improve the quality of education they provide.
Chairman of the advisory committee, Emeritus Prof. Peter Okebukola, said the engagement with the minister followed the committee’s call for increased investment in university education to sustain the growing global recognition of Nigerian institutions.
Okebukola welcomed the expansion of the committee’s mandate, expressing optimism that sustained investment, stronger institutional capacity and a unified national ranking framework would enable more Nigerian tertiary institutions to compete confidently with leading institutions globally.