• Flays FG’s jubilations

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has dismissed the Federal Government’s celebration of 29 Nigerian universities featured in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2027, saying the feat does not warrant any jubilation.

National President of the union, Prof. Chris Piwuna, said the increase from 24 universities to 29 in the latest ranking is insignificant and does not reflect progress in funding, research and learning conditions.

Reacting to the government’s claim that the ranking showed its reforms are working, the ASUU president said the government should be concerned about the quality of the ranking rather than the number.

He noted that only three Nigerian universities are among the top 1,000, one of which is a private university.

“I congratulate the three universities that made it into the first 1000 and the 29 in general, but I honestly don’t think, as a country, there is anything to celebrate,” he said.

Piwuna described the celebration as complacency, arguing that parameters considered for the ranking, including research impact, learning environment and graduate employability, remain poor in Nigerian universities.

He said the low ranking is linked to poor research funding, a poor staff-to-student ratio, and excessive workloads for lecturers.

According to him, the ideal staff mix in universities should be 20:35:45 for Professors/Readers, Senior Lecturers, and Lecturers I and below, while the staff-to-student ratio should range between 1:15 and 1:30, depending on the discipline.

He said many medical schools and academic departments are losing accreditation due to failure to meet the ratio.

The ASUU chief compared Nigeria’s performance with Pakistan, which he said has about 49 universities in the same ranking, questioning why Nigeria is celebrating an addition of five universities, some of which are private.

On what needs to be done to improve Nigeria’s standing, Piwuna said the solutions are already contained in the union’s agreements with the government, including the 2009 and 2025 agreements.

He said while academic staff have a role to play in improving research output, the environment is not conducive. T

He cited the high cost of publishing in high-impact Q1 journals, which averages $2,000, saying most lecturers cannot afford it given the current cost of living.

Speaking on the recent release of five months’ arrears of the Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance (CATA), Piwuna said the union is still at odds with the government over the payment.

He said that while the Ministry of Education claims funds have been released, Vice-Chancellors deny receiving the money to pay.

“The ministry is saying no university would say they cannot pay. Vice-Chancellors are saying they cannot pay. We are caught in the middle. Since nobody is talking to us, we know how to talk,” he said.

On the implementation of the 2025 agreement by state governments, Piwuna said most states have complied, except for three state universities in Lagos and Taraba State.

According to the latest ranking, Covenant University (CU); the University of Ibadan (UI) and the University of Lagos (UNILAG) jointly occupied the highest Nigerian position, in the 801–1000 global band.

Covenant University improved from the 1001–1200 band in 2026, while UI and UNILAG retained their positions.

Four other institutions, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Bayero University, Kano (BUK); Landmark University and the University of Ilorin, were placed in the 1001–1200 band, bringing the number of Nigerian universities in the global top 1,200 to seven.

Overall, 19 federal universities, seven state universities and three private universities were ranked.