The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) has unveiled plans to disburse N6.452 billion to 271 tertiary institutions across Nigeria under its 2026 intervention cycle. The move is aimed at strengthening physical infrastructure, enhancing academic programmes, and driving research, innovation, and overall transformation in the nation’s higher education sector.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu approved the disbursement guidelines, paving the way for the funds to be released directly to beneficiary institutions. Under this year’s allocations, each university will receive N2.525 billion, polytechnics N1.871 billion, and colleges of education N2.056 billion.
TETFund’s Executive Secretary, Sonny Echono, shared the details during a strategic stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja, where allocation letters were handed over to institutional heads. Echono revealed that the total annual direct disbursement accounts for roughly 90.75% of the funds, with 50% earmarked for annual direct intervention and 43.75% for special direct disbursements.
Echono praised President Tinubu for his support, stating that the funding would help “strengthen critical infrastructure, enhance academic programmes, boost research and innovation, and drive overall transformation in Nigeria’s tertiary education sector.”
A notable feature of the 2026 intervention is the introduction of the Nigerian Research and Education Network (NgREN), aimed at improving access to global academic resources and integrating the TERAS platform into NgREN.
The TETFund boss added that the agency would continue to upgrade research and development offices, laboratories, and workshops, as well as strengthen student exposure programmes through private-sector partnerships. Ongoing initiatives include security infrastructure enhancement, completion of long-abandoned projects, ICT development, and modernization of university farms with greenhouses and advanced equipment.
Institutions are also expected to demonstrate performance and effective fund utilization, as future allocations will be based on prior performance, enrollment, and progress. Echono emphasized prompt processing of fund applications and guaranteed payment to contractors within two weeks of milestone completion to avoid delays.
Highlighting past challenges, he called for early procurement planning and better utilization of the TERAS platform, warning that unutilized funds could affect future allocations.
“With these strategic interventions, 2026 promises to be a year of growth, innovation, and measurable impact in Nigeria’s tertiary education sector,” Echono concluded.
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