CPA Says TETFund Remains Crucial to Survival of Nigeria’s Tertiary Education

The Centre for Public Accountability has described the Tertiary Education Trust Fund as an essential lifeline for Nigeria’s higher education sector, warning that without its interventions, many public universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education would have faced deeper decay and academic decline.

Speaking at a virtual press conference, the CPA’s executive director, Olufemi Lawson, said the organisation conducted months of independent assessments across the country to evaluate TETFund’s projects, transparency, and service delivery under its executive secretary, Sonny Echono.

According to the CPA, between 2011 and 2024, TETFund disbursed over N1.8 trillion to public tertiary institutions. Universities received more than N918 billion, polytechnics got over N461 billion, and colleges of education took more than N458 billion.

The group noted that these interventions have led to visible improvements, with over 152,000 infrastructure projects executed nationwide, including lecture theatres, laboratories, libraries, hostels, and ICT centres.

The CPA also commended TETFund for supporting postgraduate training for lecturers, funding academic conferences, promoting research, and driving digital transformation through e-libraries and smart classrooms.

While acknowledging challenges in procurement processes, project timelines, and institutional compliance, the group passed a vote of confidence in the management and board led by Echono and chairman Aminu Bello Masari. The CPA urged beneficiary institutions to use intervention funds prudently and avoid project abandonment.

TETFund, established under the TETFund Act 2011 and funded by education taxes paid by companies operating in Nigeria, has been widely seen as a key agency addressing chronic underfunding, decaying infrastructure, and weak research capacity in the country’s public tertiary education system.