Nigerian Government Orders Tertiary Institutions to Disclose Key Data

Jack Acheme, Abuja 

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Nigeria’s Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, has issued a comprehensive directive mandating all federal vice-chancellors, rectors, and provosts to publish key institutional data on their official websites with immediate effect.

The development is a bold move to entrench transparency, accountability, and good governance in Nigeria’s tertiary education system and align the nation’s higher education management with global best practices.

The Minister, in a statement by the Director of Press, Federal Ministry of Education, Boriowo Folasade, notified that each institution must provide its annual budgetary allocation in full detail, including the breakdown of expenditure across three core areas: personnel cost, overhead costs and capital expenditure.

“In addition, institutions are to disclose their research grant revenue from the previous year. This data should be separated into two distinct sources: grants obtained from domestic bodies such as local industries, government agencies, or foundations; and those received from international sources, including foreign institutions, multilateral organizations, and development partners.

“Also, to be displayed is the TETFund allocation for the current year. The institutions must clearly show the total amount received from the TETFund, reflecting financial support for academic and infrastructural development in the present calendar year,’ he said.

He said the directive further mandates institutions to publish the total value of their endowment fund as recorded at the end of the previous year. This figure, which reflects funds donated or invested for the institution’s long-term financial health, must be updated quarterly to ensure currency and transparency.

“Finally, institutions are to present their current Total Student Population which must be categorized into undergraduate and postgraduate levels, thereby providing a clear picture of enrolment and institutional capacity,” he said.

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The Minister emphasised that the information must be presented in a clear, accessible, and user-friendly format for public visibility. Websites should be structured in a way that allows the public, including parents, students, and stakeholders, to easily locate and understand these data points.

“All federal institutions are expected to comply fully with this directive and ensure that their websites are completely updated no later than May 31, 2025,” he said

According to him, in order to ensure adherence, the Federal Ministry of Education will conduct periodic reviews of institutional websites and take appropriate administrative actions against non-compliant institutions, stressing that the reviews will be used to gauge compliance and drive policy decisions that promote transparency.

“This policy is part of a broader reform initiative aimed at strengthening public trust in the nation’s tertiary institutions, enhancing performance-based funding, and improving Nigeria’s global education indices,” he said.

The Minister called on all heads of tertiary institutions to treat this directive with the urgency and seriousness it demands, as it represents a critical step in collectively uplifting the integrity and global competitiveness of Nigeria’s education sector.

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