The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) has unveiled its 2026 intervention cycle, allocating ₦6.452 billion to tertiary institutions across Nigeria to boost infrastructure, research, and academic development
The Executive Secretary of TETFund, Sonny Echono, announced the allocation at a stakeholders’ workshop with heads of beneficiary institutions in Abuja, saying the intervention is aimed at improving learning conditions for students and strengthening research capacity across campuses.
Echono disclosed that about 90.75 per cent of the funds would be released as direct disbursements, made up of 50 per cent yearly direct allocations and 43.75 per cent special direct disbursements.
Under the yearly direct disbursement component, 271 institutions are expected to benefit. Universities will receive ₦2.525 billion each, polytechnics ₦1.871 billion each, while colleges of education will get ₦2.056 billion each.
According to the TETFund boss, the funds will be used to upgrade laboratories, workshops, and research offices, enhance access to global academic resources, and improve research output through the integration of the Tertiary Education, Research, Applications and Services (TERAS) platform with the Nigerian Research and Education Network (NgREN).
Beyond infrastructure, Echono said the intervention places strong emphasis on people-focused outcomes, including improved student exposure through private-sector partnerships, prompt payment of contractors, and sustained investments in campus security and training.
He also highlighted continued support for the National Research Fund, the Research Meets Industry initiative, and the commercialisation of research outcomes as part of efforts to ensure research contributes directly to national development.
Echono urged heads of institutions to fully utilise their 2025 allocations, warning that future funding would be based on performance, student enrolment, and visible progress. Institutions with unutilised funds, he added, would not receive additional allocations until existing ones are properly deployed.
He further revealed plans to establish additional research laboratories, transition university farms to modern greenhouse systems, and expand digital services in line with TETFund’s ICT roadmap.
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