She noted that competition could encourage institutions to evaluate their performance, recognise weaknesses and take practical steps to improve the quality of education they offer.
Ahmad also said both public and private institutions should be included in the ranking process, adding that the system could support efforts to maintain minimum standards as the tertiary education sector continues to grow.
Speaking at the meeting, the chairman of the advisory committee and former Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission, Emeritus Professor Peter Okebukola, said the committee had initially engaged the minister on the need for greater investment in university education.
According to him, the engagement followed growing recognition of Nigerian universities in international rankings.
Okebukola said the government’s decision to broaden the committee’s mandate beyond universities represented a major expansion of the original proposal.
He expressed confidence that increased investment, stronger institutional capacity and a structured national ranking system could help more Nigerian tertiary institutions improve their standing internationally.
The policy comes as institutions across the country continue to face challenges relating to funding, research capacity, infrastructure and staffing, all of which affect their ability to compete with better-resourced institutions globally.
By extending the ranking framework to polytechnics and colleges of education, the Federal Government is expected to create a broader system for monitoring institutional performance and measuring progress across the entire tertiary education sector.
The compulsory participation requirement also means institutions will be expected to engage with nationally established benchmarks and provide the information required for the assessment exercise.
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