11views
The Centre for Public Accountability has described the Tertiary Education Trust Fund as a vital lifeline sustaining Nigeria’s struggling higher education sector, warning that many public tertiary institutions would have faced severe infrastructural decay and academic decline without the agency’s interventions.
Speaking during a virtual press conference on Thursday, the Executive Director of CPA, Olufemi Lawson, said findings from the organisation’s independent assessment showed that TETFund remained indispensable to the survival and development of universities, polytechnics and colleges of education nationwide.
Lawson explained that the civil society organisation carried out months of investigative and monitoring activities across the country to assess TETFund’s projects, transparency, institutional performance and service delivery under the leadership of the Fund’s Executive Secretary, Sonny Echono.
According to him, the exercise involved researchers, policy analysts, education experts, procurement observers and field investigators who engaged with tertiary institution administrators, lecturers, students, contractors and host communities.
“Our findings indicate that TETFund has continued to play a strategic and indispensable role in the growth and development of tertiary education in Nigeria,” Lawson stated.
He added that despite economic challenges, inflationary pressures and rising project costs, the Fund had sustained intervention programmes aimed at improving learning conditions and institutional capacity.
The organisation disclosed that between 2011 and 2024, TETFund disbursed more than ₦1.8tn to public tertiary institutions across the country.
According to CPA, universities received over ₦918bn, while polytechnics got more than ₦461bn and colleges of education received over ₦458bn within the period.
Lawson said the interventions had resulted in visible infrastructural and academic improvements across campuses nationwide.
“Reports indicate that more than 152,000 infrastructural projects have been executed through TETFund interventions nationwide,” he said.
The projects include lecture theatres, laboratories, libraries, hostels, ICT centres, faculty buildings, entrepreneurship centres, workshops and innovation hubs.
“Many institutions that previously suffered severe infrastructural deficits now possess significantly improved learning environments due to these interventions,” Lawson added.
The CPA also commended TETFund for supporting postgraduate training for lecturers and researchers, funding academic conferences, promoting institutional research and advancing digital transformation within tertiary institutions.
“Our findings show increased commitment to institution-based research funding, manuscript development, journal publication support and innovation-driven research interventions aimed at improving Nigeria’s knowledge economy and addressing national development challenges,” the organisation said.
The group further noted that TETFund had expanded interventions in ICT, internet connectivity, e-library systems and smart classrooms to enhance digital learning and innovation.
While applauding the agency’s achievements, CPA acknowledged that challenges remained in areas such as procurement processes, project execution timelines and institutional compliance.
“We recognise that concerns regarding procurement processes, project execution timelines, institutional compliance, monitoring gaps and accountability mechanisms require continuous attention and improvement,” Lawson stated.
Despite the concerns, the organisation passed a vote of confidence in the management and board of TETFund led by Executive Secretary Sonny Echono and Board Chairman Aminu Bello Masari.
CPA said the endorsement was based on evident infrastructural improvements in beneficiary institutions, expansion of research and academic support programmes, sustained intervention funding and improved stakeholder engagement.
The group also urged beneficiary institutions to ensure prudent utilisation of intervention funds and avoid project abandonment.
Established under the TETFund Act 2011, the agency is funded through education tax paid by companies operating in Nigeria and remains one of the country’s major intervention agencies supporting public tertiary education.
Over the years, Nigeria’s tertiary education sector has struggled with overcrowded classrooms, inadequate hostel facilities, obsolete laboratories, insufficient research funding and recurring industrial disputes linked to poor funding.
Education stakeholders have repeatedly argued that without sustained support from TETFund, many public institutions would face worsening infrastructure challenges and declining academic standards.
add a comment
