The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) has announced fresh financial disbursements for universities, polytechnics and colleges of education under its 2026 intervention cycle, with each beneficiary public university set to receive over N2.52 billion as annual direct allocation.
The Executive Secretary of TETFund, Arc. Sonny Echono, disclosed this at a strategic workshop with heads of beneficiary institutions on the 2026 fisbursement guidelines held at the TETFund auditorium, Abuja.
According to Echono, a total of 271 tertiary institutions will benefit from the annual direct disbursement in 2026, as the Fund prioritises infrastructure development, research, innovation and academic capacity building across Nigeria’s higher education system.
“Under the annual direct disbursement, universities will receive N2,525,932,228.02 each, polytechnics N1,871,059,920.53, while colleges of education will get N2,056,527,973.04,” Echono said.
He explained that the funds are designed to “strengthen critical physical infrastructure, enhance academic programmes, boost research and innovation, and drive overall transformation in Nigeria’s tertiary education sector.”
Echono further revealed that 90.75 per cent of the 2026 intervention allocation would be released as direct disbursement, comprising 50 per cent annual direct disbursement and 40.75 per cent special direct disbursement, while designated projects and stabilisation funds account for the balance.
He said President Bola Tinubu had approved the 2026 guidelines in line with his administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda, commending the President’s “steadfast commitment to the repositioning of Nigeria’s tertiary education sector.
“We express our profound gratitude to Mr President for his timely approval of the 2026 Disbursement Guidelines and for his unwavering support for education as a key driver of national development,” Echono said.
Nigerian Research and Education Network
Beyond direct funding, the TETFund boss announced the introduction of a new intervention line, the Nigerian Research and Education Network (NgREN), aimed at expanding access to global academic resources and integrating the TERAS digital platform across beneficiary institutions from 2026.
He also disclosed that special interventions would cover new Centres for Robotics, Coding, Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity, while 12 additional institutions—including universities, polytechnics and colleges of education—would benefit from commercial farm projects.
Echono, however, cautioned institutions against delays in project execution, warning that slow procurement processes and poor utilisation of the TERAS platform could affect access to funds.
“The undue delay in processing projects for approval is worrisome. Beneficiaries are advised to commence their procurement planning early to avoid setbacks,” he warned.
He urged heads of institutions to ensure full utilisation of their 2025 allocations as preparations begin for the 2026 intervention cycle, assuring stakeholders that the coming year “promises growth, innovation and measurable impact across Nigeria’s tertiary education sector.”
Speedy Utilisation of Funds
The Chairman, TETFUND Board of Trustees, Hon. Aminu Masari appealed to the Vice Chancellors, Provosts and Rectors of the tertiary institutions to stop deliberate delays in the implementation of TETFUND guidelines.
“Speed up the utilization of funds allocated to your institutions. If you failed to expend allocated funds and you keep on asking for more, there is no meaning to that. It is pure wastage of funds,” he said
He urged the heads of the Tertiary institutions to work towards positive development of the institutions so that their names will be remembered in positivity.
The Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission, Professor Abdulahi Yusuf urged the heads of the institutions to align all the projects in the guidelines with national development and 21st Century needs.
He also emphasized on the need for KPI to assess impact of the years guidelines focus, which is on technology.