The Federal Ministry of Education has ordered all tertiary institutions in Nigeria to submit comprehensive reports on unutilized funds received from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) within 30 days.
The directive was issued by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, on Thursday during a meeting with heads of tertiary institutions in Abuja.
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Dr. Alausa stated that any institution unable to provide a strong justification for carrying over unused allocations risks having such funds redirected to priority projects. He emphasized that all funds must be used strictly for approved interventions and urged institutions to fast-track procurement processes to avoid project delays.
According to him, the ministry will introduce capacity-building initiatives aimed at strengthening project management, compliance, and reporting systems across tertiary institutions. He added that mentorship programs will also be launched to improve accountability and ensure effective fund utilization.
Institutions that fail to comply with the new directive will face sanctions, while a new public dashboard will soon be introduced to track TETFund disbursements and utilization. In addition, all tertiary institutions will be required to publish progress reports on their ongoing projects to promote transparency.
The directive follows concerns raised by TETFund over the growing volume of unspent allocations across Nigerian universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education. In July 2025, the agency warned that institutions that consistently fail to access or utilize their funds may be delisted, and their allocations diverted to those demonstrating better responsiveness.
