Aminu Bello Masari, chairman of the board of trustees of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), says the agency’s funding rose from N320.3 billion in 2023 to N1.6 trillion in 2025.
Masari spoke in on Thursday at the 2026 TETFund board of trustees (BoT) national town hall Meeting with stakeholders, themed “Investing in Nigeria’s Future: Tertiary Education, Human Capital and National Development”.
The former governor Katsina attributed the increase to the federal government’s commitment to tertiary education under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
He said TETFund’s budget increased to N683.4 billion in 2024 before reaching N1.6 trillion in 2025, representing an approximately fivefold increase over the 2023 figure.
According to Masari, the increased funding had strengthened beneficiary institutions’ capacity to improve infrastructure, academic programmes, research facilities and the overall learning environment.
“For the 2026 annual direct intervention alone, 271 beneficiary institutions are covered,” he said.
He said the allocations included approximately N2.526 billion for each university, N1.871 billion for each polytechnic and N2.057 billion for each college of education.
Masari, however, said the impact of the investments should be measured by improvements in graduate quality and their contributions to national development.
He said TETFund had intensified its investment in skills acquisition, particularly in polytechnics, by supporting skills development centres, providing training equipment and consumables, and training quality assurance assessors.
According to him, nearly 1,000 assessors had been trained under the initiative, with additional training ongoing.
He added that the agency had committed N10 billion in 2026 to developing skills acquisition centres in polytechnics nationwide.
Masari said the initiative complemented TETFund’s support for innovation and entrepreneurship centres and the N48 billion approved for upgrading engineering and technology facilities in 12 universities.
On research, he disclosed that approximately N6.09 billion had been approved for 174 successful proposals under the 2025 National Research Fund grant cycle.
The TETFund chairman called on beneficiary institutions to ensure transparency, prudent financial management and proper maintenance of facilities provided through the agency’s interventions.
TETFUND PROVIDES N300BN FOR STUDENT LOANS
Sonny Echono, executive secretary of TETFund, said the agency had provided more than N300 billion to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) to support student loan disbursements.
Echono described NELFUND as a major initiative of the Tinubu administration, noting that TETFund had played a significant role in the processes leading to its establishment and operationalisation.
“Nearly all the funds that have been released to Nigerian students, over N300 billion of it, was provided to NELFUND by the Federal Government,” he said.
He said the intervention was part of the administration’s broader efforts to expand access to education and reduce financial barriers facing tertiary students.
Echono also highlighted TETFund’s support for education data management, staff welfare, student innovation, research infrastructure and digital learning.
He said an interest-free loan scheme had been approved to support lecturers and non-teaching staff in tertiary institutions, while a separate student innovation fund would help students develop inventions and turn their ideas into marketable products.
He added that the agency was expanding its research investments, including the establishment of multipurpose research laboratories, one of which Tinubu had agreed to commission in Abuja.
According to Echono, more than 418 projects were ready for commissioning across beneficiary institutions.
He said TETFund was also supporting the construction of modern student hostels in 114 institutions and providing transportation for students in 42 institutions.
Echono urged stakeholders to sustain the programmes, warning that some interventions could be at risk if future policy decisions did not support their continuation.
AKUME SEEKS ACCOUNTABILITY FROM INSTITUTIONS
George Akume, secretary to the government of the federation (SGF), called on tertiary institutions to match increased government investment with greater accountability, prompt utilisation of funds and measurable improvements in teaching, research and graduate quality.
Akume, who was represented at the event by Aliyu Zakari-Jiya, said TETFund’s impact should not be assessed solely by the number of buildings constructed but also by improvements in teaching, scholarship, governance and graduates’ ability to contribute meaningfully to society.
Olatunji Alausa, minister of education, represented by Suwaiba Ahmad, minister of state for education, said the federal government remained committed to strengthening human capital development through education reforms, research, innovation and professional development.
He said infrastructure development must be accompanied by investment in teachers, lecturers, researchers and other education professionals to ensure institutions had the personnel required to operate and maintain their facilities.
Alausa also highlighted the ongoing review of curricula and national occupational standards to make education more responsive to industry and labour market needs.
Dikko Umaru Radda, governor of Katsina, commended TETFund’s contributions to tertiary education, particularly its support for state-owned institutions.
Radda also praised the federal government for providing funding that enabled the agency to help institutions address infrastructure and other developmental needs.
