The Federal Government has issued a 30-day ultimatum to all tertiary institutions in the country to submit comprehensive reports on unutilised intervention funds allocated to them by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).
Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, gave the directive during a meeting with heads of tertiary institutions in Abuja. He expressed concern over the growing volume of idle funds that could have been used to improve infrastructure and service delivery in the education sector.
“Institutions must submit reconciled reports of all unutilised funds within 30 days, which will be jointly verified. Unused funds may be redirected to priority projects. Carrying them over without strong justification will no longer be allowed,” Alausa said.
He stressed that the persistent delay in utilising TETFund allocations was affecting the ministry’s ability to track progress and fulfil critical infrastructure needs in higher education institutions.
To address this, the ministry is introducing new measures including capacity-building programmes for effective project management, quarterly compliance reviews, and sanctions for non-performing institutions.
Alausa also announced plans to launch a public dashboard that will provide real-time updates on the disbursement and utilisation of TETFund resources. Additionally, institutions will be required to publicly disclose progress reports on all approved projects.
“TETFund must lead with professionalism, enforce compliance, and ensure transparency,” he said. “Institutional heads must drive urgency and accountability, while bursars, procurement officers, and project coordinators are expected to plan and report diligently.”
The minister emphasised the need for collaborative action among all stakeholders — including auditors and oversight bodies — to ensure every naira disbursed through TETFund is accounted for and used in the public interest.
The directive follows TETFund’s warning in July 2025, where it threatened to delist institutions that fail to access or utilise their allocated funds. At the time, the Fund had voiced concerns about the slow pace of project execution and the under-utilisation of resources by beneficiary institutions.
In 2025, TETFund allocated ₦1.6 trillion to tertiary institutions across Nigeria, with key focus areas including campus security, healthcare, and direct infrastructural interventions.
The allocations are demand-driven, requiring institutions to submit proposals aligned with their developmental priorities for approval and disbursement.
