The Chairman of the Nigerian Universities Ranking Advisory Committee (NURAC), Professor Emeritus Peter Okebukola has applauded the ranking of two Nigerian universities among the top 1000 in the 2026 World University Rankings by Times Higher Education (THE) released on Thursday.
The former Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), in a statement in Abuja said that the two top rankers in 2026 are the University of Ibadan and University of Lagos with both having the same overall range score of 35.5- 38.9.
“This is an improvement over the 2025 league tables where only one Nigerian university- Covenant University was ranked among the top 1000 and the best in Nigeria” he stated.
He also noted that the Times Higher Education uses 18 carefully calibrated performance indicators to provide a comprehensive and balanced comparisons, trusted by students, academics, university leaders, industry and governments in ranking universities within its World University Ranking scheme.
According to him, other THE ranking schemes include Impact Rankings (where Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti has maintained a consistent lead over the years), Sub-Saharan Africa University rankings and ranking by subjects.
“Oxford University led the pack, followed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Princeton, University of Cambridge, Harvard University and Stanford University.
“Interestingly, Harvard that had maintained a consistent lead in the early years of the ranking, slipped to the fifth position and yielded to Oxford that retains the number one spot for the tenth consecutive year, driven by strong research environment score. Two Nigerian universities were ranked among the top 1000.
“In 2025, four Nigerian universities were ranked in the 1200 category indicating slight underperformance in 2026. The next ranked in the 1201 and 1500 band are Ahmadu Bello University, Federal University of Technology Minna, University of Ilorin, University of Jos and University of Nigeria Nsukka. Fourteen universities were ranked in the 1500+ category.”
