Key Points

• Unused TETFund allocations draw federal government scrutiny.

• Institutions face 30-day deadline to justify unspent funds.

• FG vows sanctions against defaulting vice-chancellors and rectors.

The federal government of Nigeria has told all public universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education to send in detailed reports on how they used money from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund). They have 30 days to explain why they didn’t use all of the money or face disciplinary action.

Arc. Sonny Echono, the Executive Secretary of TETFund, announced the order in Abuja. It comes after worries about rising unspent balances at many institutions, even though the education sector has urgent needs for infrastructure and research.

Echono, who used to be the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, said the government was worried that billions of naira set aside for academic development had been sitting in bank accounts. “We are worried that some of the institutions that received funds for interventions have not yet fully used them.” He said, “We are giving everyone 30 days to account for every kobo or face punishment.”

FG tries to get back TETFund money that wasn’t used

The head of the TETFund said that this step is part of efforts to make the management of education funds more accountable and open. He said that some institutions have kept money from allocations made as far back as 2021 without doing the work or keeping proper records.

Echono said that the Board of Trustees had told the Fund’s monitoring department to find institutions that were not paying their bills. They planned to put the money that was not spent back into the national education pool. “These are public funds that are meant to improve classrooms, labs, and dorms. He said, “They can’t just sit there while students study in bad conditions.”

The Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, fully supports the ultimatum, according to officials at the Ministry of Education. He is determined to make sure that people follow the rules and stop misusing funds.

The goal of the transparency drive is to hold people accountable for unused TETFund allocations

The TETFund is one of Nigeria’s main ways to fund public colleges and universities. It takes money from a two percent education tax on businesses and uses it to pay for research, infrastructure, and staff training. The Fund gave out more than ₦2 trillion to schools all over Nigeria between 2015 and 2023.

Audits, on the other hand, showed that some schools either put off starting projects or used money for things that weren’t allowed. Education experts say that these kinds of mistakes hurt the country’s efforts to improve the quality of schools and research.

Institutions have to go through more difficult compliance and audit checks

According to a report by the Punch news, Echono said that the Fund will use digital monitoring systems to keep an eye on how money is spent and how projects are going in real time. Institutions that can’t explain why they haven’t spent money could be banned from future interventions. He said, “Every naira must work for the Nigerian student,” and the Fund will work with the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) to make sure that everyone follows the rules.

The government’s crackdown is likely to lead to audits of many federal and state-owned institutions. Analysts say that if this action is carried out consistently and openly, it could help people trust Nigeria’s education finance system again.