TETFund tightens accountability, suspends foreign scholarship component
The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) has issued a strong warning to beneficiary institutions, cautioning that failure to meet performance benchmarks or mismanagement of allocated funds may result in delisting from its support programmes. This directive was emphasized by TETFund’s Executive Secretary, Arch. Sonny Echono, during a one-day strategic engagement with heads of institutions, bursars, and heads of procurement held in Abuja.
Echono clarified that the policy is not intended to punish but to uphold the credibility and impact of TETFund interventions. “Institutions that consistently fail to access, utilize, or retire funds appropriately, or that fall short of enrollment and academic performance thresholds, risk being delisted as TETFund beneficiary institutions,” he said.
The meeting, designed to address persistent challenges in Nigeria’s tertiary education sector, also aimed to improve project execution and elevate educational quality. One of the key areas of focus is the Academic Staff Training and Development (AST&D) intervention. Citing rising costs and increasing incidents of scholars absconding, Echono announced the suspension of the foreign component of the TETFund Scholarship for Academic Staff (TSAS) effective January 1, 2025. The decision underscores a shift toward more cost-effective, locally driven training initiatives.
“This decision was not made lightly,” Echono noted. “However, despite this suspension, we remain committed to enhancing the skills and capacity of our academic staff through locally driven academic development programs and professional development.”
For 2025, TETFund’s intervention budget prioritizes consolidation, sustainability, and the completion of abandoned projects. Research also remains a focal point, with increased allocations to the National Research Fund, the Research and Innovation Fund, and the Research for Industry (Triple Helix) model.
“We must use this engagement as a platform to learn, reflect, and commit to best practices in governance, project management, and compliance,” Echono urged, calling for collaborative action to elevate Nigeria’s tertiary education system.
Also speaking at the event, Professor Abdullahi Ribadu, represented by Dr. Joshua Atah of the National Universities Commission (NUC), lauded TETFund’s efforts in convening the strategic engagement. He emphasized the critical role of such interactions in evaluating the impact of Trust Fund-supported projects.
Ribadu praised TETFund’s adaptability in suspending the foreign scholarship component, noting that it allows for the reallocation of resources toward more sustainable initiatives. He also called for increased responsiveness from institutions in designing and implementing relevant and impactful interventions.
“Judicious utilisation and timely execution of allocated funds are crucial to ensuring that the intended impact of these interventions is fully realized,” he added, urging institutions to align their projects with the evolving needs of Nigeria’s education sector.