Tertiary institutions with fewer than 2,000 students will no longer qualify for financial support from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), the Federal Government has announced, as part of sweeping reforms to streamline education funding.
The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, made this known at a policy engagement in Lagos with heads of institutions and procurement officers from the southern region. He stated that public funds must deliver measurable value, warning that under-enrolled institutions would be excluded from TETFund allocations if they fail to scale up enrolment within five years.
“This new direction is about efficiency and accountability,” Alausa said, noting that institutions with stagnant growth continue to receive the same level of funding as larger, more active schools, an imbalance the government can no longer sustain.
The reform is part of broader efforts to curb waste, discourage proliferation of ill-equipped campuses, and ensure higher returns on public investment in education.
TETFund’s Executive Secretary, Sonny Echono, echoed the Minister’s stance, stressing that the Fund will now adopt performance-based benchmarks for support. He warned that institutions failing to utilise, retire, or justify allocated funds may be dropped entirely.
In addition, the government is redirecting resources away from foreign scholarships, citing high rates of non-returning scholars. Instead, it plans to boost local postgraduate education through 28 new Centres of Excellence, aimed at improving research and academic retention.
Officials also expressed concern over the unchecked expansion of satellite campuses, describing the trend as unsustainable and detrimental to academic quality.
