GIVEN the pivotal role universities and the education sector play in manpower and societal development, it is deeply concerning that none of Nigeria’s 297 universities made the top 1,000 in the 2026 Quacquarelli Symonds World University Ranking for the third consecutive year.
QS evaluates universities using eight key performance indicators to arrive at their outcomes: academic reputation (30 per cent), employer reputation (15 per cent), faculty/student ratio (10 per cent), citations per faculty (20 per cent), international faculty ratio (5.0 per cent), international student ratio (5.0 per cent), international research network (5.0 per cent), employment outcomes (5.0 per cent), and sustainability (5.0 per cent).
Led by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States; Imperial College, London, United Kingdom; and Stanford University, US, the top 10 universities are in the US, Asia, and Europe.
According to the rankings, which featured 1,501 institutions from 106 locations worldwide, only three Nigerian universities made the list.
The University of Ibadan and the University of Lagos appeared in the 1,001–1,200 range, while the Ahmadu Bello University was in the 1,201–1,400 range. UI and ABU maintained their positions in the 1,001–1,200 range in the 2025 ranking.
In comparison, two South African universities made the top 300: the University of Cape Town ranked 150th, and the University of Witwatersrand was placed 291st.
Twenty Egyptian universities made the 2026 list, followed by South Africa’s 11, and Tunisia’s four.
The poor showing of Nigerian universities reflects the dire state of tertiary education and the broader education sector. In the 1950s to 1980s, Nigerian universities ranked high, attracting international students and fostering institutional collaborations. However, years of neglect have eroded these achievements.
Currently, universities are unable to fulfil their local mandate of teaching, research, and community service, let alone secure a significant position in global rankings.
The universities’ troubling underperformance on several fronts is largely due to gross underfunding. Budgetary allocation to education ranges from 5.0 per cent to 7.0 per cent. This is too low to develop education in any country.
Many universities are also unable to attract private sector funding due to poor linkages with industries and a glaring lack of innovation.
The facilities in the universities are in a deplorable state, and academics lack motivation due to poor pay.
TETFund, the creative approach introduced by ASUU, which has improved infrastructure in the universities and other tertiary institutions, is being considered for replacement by NELFUND, a student loan initiative that caters to less than 10 per cent of students.
Frequent strikes further disrupt academic activities, isolating Nigerian universities from internationalisation and student exchange opportunities. The Federal Government has failed to implement several MoUs between it and ASUU since the tenure of the late Umaru Yar’Adua over funding and earned allowances
They lag in key QS performance indicators, especially research output, international collaboration, and employability.
Rather than strengthening existing institutions to make them globally competitive, successive governments have continued to establish new universities, exacerbating institutional decay and mediocrity.
Worse still, universities are often created not based on national needs but as political rewards, raising questions about whether the focus is on quantity or quality.
The Nigerian universities operate in a global ecosystem. The owners of the universities, governments, and private proprietors must therefore muster the right political will to make the universities globally competitive.
The first step is a shift in attitude towards policy formulation, implementation, funding, and governance. Universities must be adequately funded and granted autonomy.
The unchecked proliferation of universities undermines quality. The government must halt the establishment of new universities and focus on elevating existing ones to global standards.
Securing a sustainable place in global university rankings requires planning, strategy, and political will from university proprietors and administrators. Stakeholders must collaborate deliberately to meet the requirements and key performance indicators that underpin global university rankings.