Recall that Times recently released a ranking of universities globally, the Nigerian Universities Ranking Advisory Committee has stated that they are currently planning to conduct a nationwide ranking of Nigerian universities by October 2026.
Prof. Peter Okebukola who is the Chairman of the Committee and former Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission, made this known in an interview with newsmen
The ranking used 18 carefully calibrated performance indicators to provide a comprehensive and balanced comparison, trusted by students, academics, university leaders, industry, and governments in ranking universities within its World University Ranking scheme.
The University of Ibadan, Oyo State, was ranked Nigeria’s best university in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2026.
The ranking, published on THE’s website, placed the Ibadan-based federal university between 801 and 1,000 globally and ahead of other leading Nigerian universities, a spot it last held in 2023.
Over 2,191 institutions were surveyed from 115 countries and assessed them based on 18 performance indicators across five key areas: teaching, research environment, research quality, industry, and international outlook.
Following UI are the University of Lagos, Bayero University, and CU, ranked second, third, and fourth in Nigeria, respectively.
However, Okebukola said, “On the first question regarding the next national ranking of Nigerian universities, NURAC is planning the next one for October 2026. Please recall that NURAC conducted the last one in 2024, and our ranking had a high correlation with the ranking of Nigerian universities on global league tables in 2025.”
When asked if there were bottlenecks against the ranking, the former Chairman of the Governing Council of the National Open University of Nigeria said, “There are none for now.”
Incidentally, NURAC met on October 16, 2025, to deliberate on Nigeria’s performance in the 2026 THE World University Rankings and strategies for improvement in the 2027 edition.
“We agreed to forward an Aide Mémoire to NUC and the Honourable Minister of Education on what Nigeria should do to not only improve the global ranking of our universities but also to elevate the quality of the university delivery system beyond the matter of ranking,” he said.
The National Universities Commission last conducted a ranking of Nigerian universities in 2021, evaluating 113 universities across the country using 12 indicators.
