29 Nigerian universities enter THE 2027 world rankings — Education Ministry

Education

ABUJA, Nigeria (NPA) — Twenty-nine Nigerian universities have featured in the 2027 Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings, giving Nigeria the highest representation of any country in Sub-Saharan Africa, according to the Federal Ministry of Education.

The ministry, in a statement signed by its Director of Press and Public Relations, Folasade Biriowo, said the increase from 24 universities in the 2026 rankings to 29 in 2027 reflected progress under ongoing tertiary education reforms led by the Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Tunji Alausa.

The ministry said the reforms were focused on research excellence, innovation, institutional performance and international competitiveness, adding that 32 additional Nigerian universities were listed in the THE Reporter category. This brings the number of Nigerian institutions engaged with the ranking exercise to 61.

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Federal universities recorded strong representation, with five of the seven Nigerian universities placed within the global top 1,200 being federal institutions.

The University of Ibadan, University of Lagos and Covenant University were placed in the 801–1000 band. Ahmadu Bello University, University of Ilorin and Bayero University were in the 1001–1200 band.

The ministry said federal universities occupied all six Nigerian positions in the 1401–1600 band, further contributing to Nigeria’s ranking profile.

Five of the seven Nigerian universities reported by the ministry to have recorded clear upward movement were federal institutions: Ahmadu Bello University, University of Ilorin, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Obafemi Awolowo University and University of Benin.

Other institutions featuring in the 2027 rankings included Landmark University, Babcock University, Osun State University, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Federal University of Technology, Minna, University of Jos, University of Maiduguri, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Lagos State University, Olabisi Onabanjo University, University of Calabar, Delta State University, Abraka, Ekiti State University, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Federal University Oye-Ekiti, Kwara State University, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, and University of Port Harcourt.

The ministry described the increased participation of Nigerian universities in the THE rankings as evidence, in its assessment, of the impact of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda for Education and the Nigerian Education Sector Renewal Initiative (NESRI).

It said the reform agenda was also focused on strengthening evidence-based institutional performance, research capacity and healthy competition across the tertiary education system.

The ministry said Alausa had directed the Nigeria Tertiary Education Ranking Advisory Committee (NITERAC), led by Prof. Peter Okebukola, to commence the 2026 national ranking of Nigerian universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.

According to the ministry, the national ranking framework, being developed in consultation with stakeholders, will assess institutions using 22 indicators aimed at identifying institutional strengths and areas requiring improvement.

The ministry said the 2027 THE rankings showed research quality as the strongest performance pillar for Nigerian universities, while research environment and teaching remained areas requiring further attention.

It identified academic reputation, research output and productivity, doctoral output, international collaboration and institutional data reporting as areas that would be important to sustaining the progress.

The Federal Ministry of Education said it would continue to support reforms aimed at improving research excellence, teaching quality, innovation, international engagement and institutional competitiveness.

It said the growing participation of Nigerian universities in global rankings should serve not only as recognition but also as a mechanism for benchmarking performance, identifying gaps and driving continuous improvement across the tertiary education sector.