FG evolves 22 templates to rank tertiary institutions in December

The Federal Government has set December 15, 2026, as the deadline for completing its national ranking of universities, polytechnics and colleges of education, with universities to be assessed using 22 indicators as part of efforts to strengthen institutional performance and improve Nigeria’s global competitiveness.

The exercise, coordinated by the Nigerian Tertiary Education Ranking Advisory Committee 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.

The Chairman of NiTERAC, Prof. Peter Okebukola, disclosed details of the exercise in a presentation on Nigeria’s performance in the 2027 Times Higher Education World University Rankings, dated September 30, 2026, a copy of which he made available to newsmen.

According to Okebukola, 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 Honourable 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.

Nigeria’s performance in the 2027 edition of the Times Higher Education World University Rankings provides a reference point for the government’s ambitions.

According to Okebukola’s presentation, 29 Nigerian universities featured in the rankings, compared with 24 in the previous edition, making the country the most represented in sub-Saharan Africa.

The University of Ibadan, University of Lagos and Covenant University were placed in the global 801–1,000 band, while four other Nigerian universities featured in the 1,001–1,200 category.

A further 32 Nigerian universities were listed in the Reporter category, bringing the number of institutions that submitted data or engaged with the ranking process to 61.

Reporter status indicates that an institution has provided data but does not satisfy one or more requirements for inclusion in the ranked tables.

The presentation noted that only 29 of the 328 universities listed by the National Universities Commission appeared in the ranked category.

It identified research funding, publication productivity, institutional data management and international collaboration as areas requiring sustained attention. It also highlighted differences among institutions in teaching, research quality, industry engagement and international outlook.

The national ranking is expected to provide institutions with a domestic benchmark against which they can measure their performance, identify gaps and plan improvements.

With the three subsector rankings scheduled for completion before December 15, 2026, the exercise will involve data collection, validation and finalisation of the assessment framework.

In a related development, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has extended the deadline for candidates with outstanding admission offers from 2021 to 2025 to accept or reject the offers on its Central Admissions Processing System.

The board announced the extension in a statement posted on its X handle on Wednesday, giving affected candidates until November 30, 2026, to take action.

JAMB urged candidates with pending offers to log into their CAPS accounts and indicate whether they wished to accept or reject the admissions.

The board said, “JAMB has extended the deadline for affected candidates to 30 November 2026 to accept or reject their outstanding admission offers on CAPS.”

The board warned that candidates who failed to act before the deadline would lose the status of their outstanding offers on JAMB’s records.

“After 30 November, outstanding offers that have neither been accepted nor rejected will revert to ‘Not Admitted’ on JAMB’s records,” it said.

JAMB also cautioned candidates against waiting until the last minute, urging them to check their CAPS accounts and take the necessary action.

The latest extension follows an earlier deadline of September 30, 2026, announced by JAMB on August 30 for candidates offered admission from 2021 to date.

The board had initially set August 31 as the deadline for affected candidates to accept or reject their outstanding offers before extending it to September 30.

In its August statement, JAMB said candidates who accepted their offers would be able to proceed to print and obtain their admission letters, while those who rejected theirs would have their dashboards reverted to “Not Admitted”.

The board also said candidates who had moved to another institution or programme could accept their previous outstanding admission and subsequently apply for the appropriate correction or deletion, where applicable.

JAMB further stated that candidates offered admission in the 2026 admission exercise but who still had previous admission offers pending could reject the earlier offers without affecting their 2026 admission.

However, under the latest extension, the board said outstanding 2021-2025 offers that remain neither accepted nor rejected after November 30 would automatically revert to “Not Admitted”.

“Any subsequent request to update such an admission will attract the applicable penalty fee,” JAMB warned.

The board urged all affected candidates to check their CAPS accounts and make their decisions before the new deadline.