ABUJA, Nigeria – Nigeria’s tertiary education regulators have warned universities, polytechnics and colleges of education against leaving intervention projects unfinished or mismanaging public funds, insisting that future TETFund allocations should be tied to institutional performance and measurable results.
The regulators also called for stronger campus security systems, improved maintenance of facilities and greater accountability in the use of intervention funds to ensure that investments translate into safer learning environments and better educational outcomes.
Representatives of the National Universities Commission (NUC), National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) and National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) made the demands on Wednesday during a strategic engagement organised by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) for governing council chairmen, heads of institutions and bursars in Abuja.
Representing the Executive Secretary of NUC, Professor Abdullahi Yusufu Ribadu, Lord Mohammed Sarik disclosed that the Office of the National Security Adviser had collaborated with the commission and TETFund to develop a security framework for university campuses. He said the framework had been circulated to universities nationwide to guide the preparation of individual institutional security plans.
According to him, universities would be required to submit their plans to enable TETFund assess their security needs and determine areas requiring additional support. “Our responsibility will be to ask the universities where they are with this intervention and ask them to submit those plans so that TETFund can further support,” he said.
Similarly, the representative of the Executive Secretary of NBTE, Engineer Dr Hassan Funsho Akande, said the success of TETFund interventions should be measured by their impact on students’ learning, practical skills acquisition and contributions to society. He identified functional workshops, competent instructors and stronger partnerships with industries as essential to preparing polytechnic graduates for employment and entrepreneurship.
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