The Centre for Public Accountability has described the Tertiary Education Trust Fund as a critical lifeline sustaining Nigeria’s struggling higher education sector, warning that many public tertiary institutions would have faced deeper infrastructural decay and academic setbacks 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 has remained indispensable to the survival and development of universities, polytechnics and colleges of education across the country.
Lawson said the civil society organisation undertook months of investigative and monitoring activities across Nigeria to evaluate TETFund’s projects, transparency, institutional performance and service delivery under the leadership of the Fund’s Executive Secretary, Sonny Echono.
According to him, the assessment involved researchers, policy analysts, education experts, procurement observers and field investigators, who engaged with tertiary institution administrators, lecturers, students, contractors and host communities nationwide.
“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 continued to sustain intervention programmes aimed at improving learning conditions and institutional capacity.
According to CPA, records showed that between 2011 and 2024, TETFund disbursed over ₦1.8tn to public tertiary institutions in Nigeria.
The organisation said universities received more than ₦918bn, while polytechnics got over ₦461bn and colleges of education received more than ₦458bn within the period.
Lawson noted that the interventions had translated into 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, according to the organisation, 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 driving digital transformation in 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 support digital learning and innovation.
While commending the agency, CPA acknowledged that challenges still exist 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 said.
Nevertheless, the organisation passed a vote of confidence in the management and board of TETFund led by Echono and Board Chairman, Aminu Bello Masari.
The group said its decision was based on what it described as evident infrastructural improvements in beneficiary institutions, expansion of research and academic support programmes, sustained intervention funding and improved stakeholder engagement.
CPA also urged beneficiary institutions to ensure prudent utilisation of intervention funds and avoid project abandonment.
Established under the TETFund Act 2011, TETFund is funded through education tax paid by companies operating in Nigeria and serves as one of the major intervention agencies supporting public tertiary education.
The agency was created to address chronic underfunding, decaying infrastructure and weak research capacity in universities, polytechnics and colleges of 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 intervention support from TETFund, many public institutions would face worsening infrastructure challenges and declining academic standards.
Under the current management, TETFund has increasingly focused on research, innovation, digital learning, academic staff development and special intervention projects aimed at improving institutional capacity and graduate employability.
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