The Federal Government has directed all tertiary institutions across Nigeria to account for and return unutilised funds from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) within 30 days, warning that failure to comply will attract sanctions.

The directive came from the Minister of Education, Dr. Olatunji Alausa, on Thursday during a high-level meeting with the heads of institutions in Abuja. The minister expressed concern over the growing stock of funds that remain unutilised, stressing that these resources, intended for infrastructural development and other priority projects, have been left idle due to administrative bottlenecks.

“Institutions must submit reconciled reports of all unutilised funds within 30 days, which will be jointly verified. Unused funds may be redirected to priority projects, and carrying them over without strong justification will no longer be allowed. Procurement plans must align with approved interventions, and approvals should be fast-tracked to prevent delays,” Alausa said.

The minister also announced the introduction of capacity-building programmes to strengthen project management, compliance, and reporting. Mentorship initiatives for key personnel will accompany the programmes, while quarterly reviews will track progress and ensure accountability. Institutions that fail to utilise their funds efficiently will face sanctions.

Transparency, Alausa said, will be enhanced through the creation of a public dashboard detailing fund disbursement and utilisation, while institutions will be required to publish progress reports on ongoing projects.

“TETFund must lead with professionalism, enforce compliance, and ensure transparency. Institutional heads should drive urgency and accountability, while bursars, procurement officers, and project coordinators must plan and report diligently. Auditors and oversight bodies are expected to monitor activities and flag irregularities. Every TETFund naira represents public trust,” he added.

This move follows repeated concerns from TETFund over the significant volume of unaccessed and unutilised allocations by tertiary institutions. In July 2025, the agency threatened to delist institutions that fail to utilise their funds, emphasizing that allocations would be diverted to compliant institutions.

TETFund resources are allocated based on a demand-driven system, where institutions submit proposals for projects aligned with their needs, which are then reviewed and approved. In 2025 alone, the agency disbursed N1.6 trillion to Nigerian tertiary institutions, prioritising campus security, direct interventions, and healthcare projects.