The Tertiary Education Trust Fund, TETFund, has announced its funda disbursement plans for 2026, with huge allocations to beneficiary institutions.
According to the Executive Secretary, Sonny Echono, on Tuesday while making the announcement in Abuja, each public university would get N2.53 billion, polytechnic N1.87 billion and college of education N2 06 billion.
A total of 271 public tertiary institution are to benefit from the largesse.
READ ALSO: FG orders tertiary institutions to submit reports on unutilised TETFund allocations within 30 days
Echono explained that the allocations are targeted at strengthening critical infrastructure, revitalising academic programmes, deepening research and innovation, and accelerating the overall transformation of Nigeria’s universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.
According to him, the 2026 disbursement structure is heavily weighted in favour of direct institutional funding, with 90.75 per cent earmarked for direct disbursement,50 per cent as annual direct disbursement and 40.75 per cent as special direct disbursement.
Designated projects account for 9.07 per cent, while stabilisation funds make up 0.18 per cent.
He disclosed that President Bola Tinubu, approved the 2026 Disbursement Guidelines in line with his administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda, describing the move as a clear affirmation of the President’s resolve to reposition Nigeria’s tertiary education system.
Echono also lauded the Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Alausa, and the TETFund Board of Trustees, chaired by Rt. Hon. Bello Masari, for their swift and coordinated efforts in finalising the guidelines.
Looking back at the 2025 intervention cycle, the TETFund boss said the Fund recorded significant progress in stakeholder engagement, policy alignment, programme implementation and capacity building across beneficiary institutions.
Echono noted that several high-impact initiatives introduced in previous years have been sustained in the 2026 guidelines.
These include the rehabilitation of medical schools across the six geopolitical zones, the Public–Private Partnership hostel development scheme, establishment of medical simulation and technology centres, staff support funding, campus transportation support through electric tricycles, and the students’ start-up and innovation grants.
READ ALSO: Court declares Plateau lawmaker Adamu Aliyu wanted over alleged TETFund Fraud
A major highlight of the 2026 cycle, he said, is the introduction of the Nigerian Research and Education Network (NgREN), a new intervention line aimed at expanding access to global academic resources and integrating the Tertiary Education Research, Applications and Services (TERAS) platform into a unified digital research ecosystem.
The Fund is also expanding its special intervention portfolio to cover the establishment of centres for robotics, coding, artificial intelligence and machine learning, as well as centres for cybersecurity studies in selected institutions.
For more details, visit New Daily Prime at www.newdailyprime.news.
