The Federal Government has approved the disbursement of more than ₦6 billion in intervention funds to 271 tertiary institutions across the country in the 2026 intervention cycle.
The funds, approved through the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), will be disbursed to universities, polytechnics and colleges of education nationwide.
Speaking at the annual TETFund disbursement meeting held in Abuja on Tuesday, the Executive Secretary of the Fund, Mr. Sonny Echono, disclosed that each university would receive ₦2,525,932,228.02, while polytechnics would get ₦1,871,059,920.53 each. Colleges of education are to receive ₦2,056,527,973.04 each.
A breakdown of the 2026 disbursement cycle shows that total direct disbursement accounts for 90.75 per cent, comprising annual direct disbursement of 50 per cent and special direct disbursement of 40.75 per cent. Designated projects account for 9.07 per cent, while stabilisation funds represent 0.18 per cent.
Echono, however, expressed concern over delays by some beneficiary institutions in processing projects for approval and completing due process requirements for implementation.
He advised heads of institutions to commence procurement planning early to avoid unnecessary delays.
“Also worrisome is the slow and reluctant utilisation of the TERAS platform with all its associated services by some beneficiary institutions. The Fund will be paying closer attention to this in the year 2026,” he warned.
He further called for improved documentation and better understanding of TETFund guidelines for training and conference interventions, noting that this would reduce challenges faced by scholars.
The TETFund boss said the Fund would sustain interventions in security infrastructure and training, completion of abandoned projects, and strengthening disaster recovery measures across institutions.
According to him, research and innovation will remain a major priority in 2026, with continued support for the National Research Fund, institutional research and development partnerships, the Research-Meets-Industry initiative, and the commercialisation of research outcomes.
He added that laboratory and agricultural development would receive significant attention.
“We are enhancing the ongoing multipurpose laboratory projects, setting up two new ones, and creating new agricultural laboratories and demonstration farms,” Echono said.
He also revealed that TETFund’s ICT roadmap would be strengthened through expanded digital services, ICT Experience Centres, subscription-based internet access, and further development of the Tertiary Education Research Application Services (TERAS) platform.
“With these strategic interventions, 2026 promises to be a year of strengthened capacity, innovation, and measurable impact across Nigeria’s tertiary education sector,” he stated.
Echono commended the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) for its role in the collection of Education Tax in 2025, expressing optimism that the introduction of the development levy under the new tax regime would further support TETFund’s mandate.
He announced the introduction of a new intervention line — the Nigerian Research and Education Network (NgREN) — in the 2026 annual direct intervention, aimed at improving access to global academic resources and integrating TERAS into NgREN from 2026.
The Fund also plans to expand special intervention projects to include Centres for Robotics, Coding and AI/Machine Learning, as well as Centres for Cybersecurity Studies in selected institutions.
In addition, 12 more institutions — comprising two universities, eight polytechnics and two colleges of education — will benefit from the commercial farm project.
Echono added that TETFund would continue the upgrade of research and development offices in beneficiary institutions and sustain the development of student hostels through Public–Private Partnerships.
