TETFund’s Inconsistent Sharing Formula: A Call For ASUP Intervention -By Auwal Ahmed Ibrahim

The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (Tetfund) is a blessing for education in Nigeria, as it provides a solid foundation for staff development, construction of mega projects, and awards of scholarships to students. The Tetfund enhances academic productivity and mitigates challenges confronting Nigerian academics on their progression path. Although the disbursement formula of the Tetfund is inconsistent, looking at some academic needs, measures, and parameters for intervention.

In 2025, the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) received N1.6 trillion for interventions across Nigeria’s tertiary institutions, marking the highest allocation in the agency’s history. This is commendable. However, despite the goodness of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (Tetfund) for Nigerian tertiary institutions, there is disparity and inconsistency in the sharing formula for variant and similar institutions in allocation and intervention, which seems to disregard the unique needs and circumstances of individual institutions.

The current formula for allocating funds for conferences, scholarships, and workshops without adequately considering the number of staff and students in each institution is unjustifiable. Tetfund’s allocation model has been criticized in some quarters of education for its lack of equity and justification. For instance, all polytechnics, colleges of education, and universities receive similar amounts, despite differing needs, priorities, population, number of staff, and students. This approach fails to acknowledge the distinct roles and challenges faced by each institution for funding and intervention.

Like in previous years, last year’s Tetfund budget for tertiary institutions in Nigeria showed that polytechnics received N1,994,335,731.71 each, consisting of N1,794,335,731.71 as normal allocation and N200,000,000.00 as zonal allocation. Universities received N2,860,562,362.66 each, comprising N2,560,562,352.66 as normal allocation and N300,000,000.00 as zonal allocation, and colleges of education received N2,178,428,260.79 each, made up of N1,978,428,260.79 as normal allocation and N200,000,000.00 as zonal allocation.

This formula is inconsistent and unfavorable. In 2021, the Chairman, Council of Heads of Polytechnics and Colleges of Technology in Nigeria (COHEADS), Dr. Akinkurolere Olanike, appealed to the Board of Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) to review the formula for allocation of regular intervention to beneficiary institutions in favor of polytechnics for its skills-added program.

Despite the argument of the Executive Secretary of Tetfund, Arc. Sunny Echono, on the sharing formula that the issue of sharing for regular intervention to tertiary institutions is entrenched in the law establishing the fund and it requires amendment for any change to take place, and for more than four years, nothing has been done to review the formula.

Meanwhile, with the addition of the National Skills Framework (NSQF) to polytechnics’ mandate, there is a need for more funds to be added to the polytechnics’ sector. Allocating more funds to the polytechnics’ sector will sponsor staff attendance at the Association of Technical Universities and Polytechnics in Africa (ATUPA) biennial conference to present papers and discuss other issues relating to TVET and open a window for skills development and research breakthrough.

In May 2025, the Executive Secretary of the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), Prof. Idris Bugaje, said Nigerian polytechnics perform dual functions of teaching and skills training; hence, he advised reviewing the Tetfund sharing formula to augment the new task.

The sharing formula for regular intervention, as enshrined in the TETFund’s Establishment Act, is centered on a 2:1:1 ratio for universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education, respectively, with polytechnics getting the least amount. Polytechnics’ mandates stress the need for TETFund to increase its budget base on capacity to assist in the development of skills acquisition centers in polytechnics through special interventions.

The NBTE Executive Secretary advocated for equal sharing for all variant institutions, emphasizing that “In reality, polytechnics are the ones doing skills training.”

Within the polytechnic sector, institutions with few staff and small size of student populations should be considered for its needs and shouldn’t receive the same amount of funding with similar institutions. This is evident in the case of newly upcoming polytechnics, which have a relatively small student population of less than 1,000 students compared to giant institutions like Federal Polytechnic, Yaba, and Kaduna Polytechnic, Kaduna, which have over 50,000 students but receive the same allocation despite differing needs and population size of academic staff.

This unjustifiable allocation has now crippled many large polytechnics, causing them to cut international studies, conferences, and workshops among their staff because the fund cannot sustain them.

According to data obtained from Tetfund, in 2022, each university received N642,848,138.00, while N396,780,086.00 went to each polytechnic and N447,758,804.00 to each college of education in the approved 2022 interventions for beneficiary institutions across the country. Polytechnics received less than all the institutions despite the campaign for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in Nigerian polytechnics.

In an effort to reward large institutions with a larger size of population, last year, in 2025, the Minister of State for Education, Professor Suwaiba Ahmad, said the Nigerian Federal Government would no longer fund tertiary institutions from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) with fewer than 1,000 students’ enrollment. The Minister stated this at the 2025 policy meeting in Abuja, questioning the fairness of distributing the same amount of resources to schools with low enrollment as to those with much larger student populations becoming stranded.

However, students’ enrollment is not the only area of focus in sharing Tetfund funds. The number of staff capacity, programs, and academic population matters for consideration. Many schools, even among the polytechnics, waste the Tetfund opportunities while large institutions grapple to manage staff development.

In the case of Kaduna Polytechnic and many polytechnics with large staff, each staff member is only entitled to one study sponsorship opportunity, conferences are based on a two-year interval, and book publishers wait in batches of years because of the large academic staff. This is an issue of consideration for Tetfund.

To buttress the issue of inconsistency; the Executive Secretary of Tetfund expressed dismay when he told a gathering that a tertiary institution, in South-West, receives an annual Tetfund intervention with only 30 students. Arc. Echono stated this in Abuja at the 2025 one-day strategic interactive workshops for heads of institutions, bursars, and heads of procurement of TETFund beneficiary institutions in May 2025.

A more equitable approach should be based on the sharing formula on the number of staff and students, rather than treating all institutions equally. This would ensure that institutions with larger populations and greater needs receive the necessary support to drive academic excellence.

The current formula undermines the efforts of giant institutions that are striving for their staff development. Larger institutions are disadvantaged by the current system, which prioritizes established institutions with small student populations and few staff. This disparity downgrades polytechnics and prioritizes smaller established universities and colleges of education just because of the funding. This disparity may be the cause of having more universities and colleges of education in Nigeria than polytechnics.

To address these inconsistencies, Tetfund should adopt a more nuanced approach that takes into account the unique characteristics and needs of each institution. This could involve a weighted funding formula that considers factors such as student enrollment, JAMB admission seekers per designated institution, staff number, institution needs, and institution capacity.

Despite the introduction of other interventions, polytechnics get the least, for instance, in 2023, Tetfund’s special intervention of N3 billion was earmarked for six selected universities, and N1 billion each was allocated to six polytechnics and six colleges of education across the country.

Implementing a revised sharing formula would not only promote fairness but also enhance the overall quality of education in Nigeria. By prioritizing institutions with greater needs and potential for growth, Tetfund can drive academic excellence and contribute to the country’s development through justifiable intervention.

The Executive Secretary of Tetfund and Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) should consider these recommendations and work towards creating a more equitable and transparent funding allocation process for all tertiary institutions in Nigeria. By doing so, we can ensure that the polytechnic education sector will be equipped to meet the challenges of the 21st century in Nigerian academic and skills pursuit.

Auwal Ahmed Ibrahim, Goronyo, is a lecturer at Kaduna Polytechnic and can be reached via auwalgoronyo@gmail.com.

The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (Tetfund) is a blessing for education in Nigeria, as it provides a solid foundation for staff development, construction of mega projects, and awards of scholarships to students. The Tetfund enhances academic productivity and mitigates challenges confronting Nigerian academics on their progression path. Although the disbursement formula of the Tetfund is inconsistent, looking at some academic needs, measures, and parameters for intervention.

In 2025, the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) received N1.6 trillion for interventions across Nigeria’s tertiary institutions, marking the highest allocation in the agency’s history. This is commendable. However, despite the goodness of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (Tetfund) for Nigerian tertiary institutions, there is disparity and inconsistency in the sharing formula for variant and similar institutions in allocation and intervention, which seems to disregard the unique needs and circumstances of individual institutions.

The current formula for allocating funds for conferences, scholarships, and workshops without adequately considering the number of staff and students in each institution is unjustifiable. Tetfund’s allocation model has been criticized in some quarters of education for its lack of equity and justification. For instance, all polytechnics, colleges of education, and universities receive similar amounts, despite differing needs, priorities, population, number of staff, and students. This approach fails to acknowledge the distinct roles and challenges faced by each institution for funding and intervention.

Like in previous years, last year’s Tetfund budget for tertiary institutions in Nigeria showed that polytechnics received N1,994,335,731.71 each, consisting of N1,794,335,731.71 as normal allocation and N200,000,000.00 as zonal allocation. Universities received N2,860,562,362.66 each, comprising N2,560,562,352.66 as normal allocation and N300,000,000.00 as zonal allocation, and colleges of education received N2,178,428,260.79 each, made up of N1,978,428,260.79 as normal allocation and N200,000,000.00 as zonal allocation.

This formula is inconsistent and unfavorable. In 2021, the Chairman, Council of Heads of Polytechnics and Colleges of Technology in Nigeria (COHEADS), Dr. Akinkurolere Olanike, appealed to the Board of Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) to review the formula for allocation of regular intervention to beneficiary institutions in favor of polytechnics for its skills-added program.

Despite the argument of the Executive Secretary of Tetfund, Arc. Sunny Echono, on the sharing formula that the issue of sharing for regular intervention to tertiary institutions is entrenched in the law establishing the fund and it requires amendment for any change to take place, and for more than four years, nothing has been done to review the formula.

Meanwhile, with the addition of the National Skills Framework (NSQF) to polytechnics’ mandate, there is a need for more funds to be added to the polytechnics’ sector. Allocating more funds to the polytechnics’ sector will sponsor staff attendance at the Association of Technical Universities and Polytechnics in Africa (ATUPA) biennial conference to present papers and discuss other issues relating to TVET and open a window for skills development and research breakthrough.

In May 2025, the Executive Secretary of the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), Prof. Idris Bugaje, said Nigerian polytechnics perform dual functions of teaching and skills training; hence, he advised reviewing the Tetfund sharing formula to augment the new task.

The sharing formula for regular intervention, as enshrined in the TETFund’s Establishment Act, is centered on a 2:1:1 ratio for universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education, respectively, with polytechnics getting the least amount. Polytechnics’ mandates stress the need for TETFund to increase its budget base on capacity to assist in the development of skills acquisition centers in polytechnics through special interventions.

The NBTE Executive Secretary advocated for equal sharing for all variant institutions, emphasizing that “In reality, polytechnics are the ones doing skills training.”

Within the polytechnic sector, institutions with few staff and small size of student populations should be considered for its needs and shouldn’t receive the same amount of funding with similar institutions. This is evident in the case of newly upcoming polytechnics, which have a relatively small student population of less than 1,000 students compared to giant institutions like Federal Polytechnic, Yaba, and Kaduna Polytechnic, Kaduna, which have over 50,000 students but receive the same allocation despite differing needs and population size of academic staff.

This unjustifiable allocation has now crippled many large polytechnics, causing them to cut international studies, conferences, and workshops among their staff because the fund cannot sustain them.

According to data obtained from Tetfund, in 2022, each university received N642,848,138.00, while N396,780,086.00 went to each polytechnic and N447,758,804.00 to each college of education in the approved 2022 interventions for beneficiary institutions across the country. Polytechnics received less than all the institutions despite the campaign for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in Nigerian polytechnics.

In an effort to reward large institutions with a larger size of population, last year, in 2025, the Minister of State for Education, Professor Suwaiba Ahmad, said the Nigerian Federal Government would no longer fund tertiary institutions from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) with fewer than 1,000 students’ enrollment. The Minister stated this at the 2025 policy meeting in Abuja, questioning the fairness of distributing the same amount of resources to schools with low enrollment as to those with much larger student populations becoming stranded.

However, students’ enrollment is not the only area of focus in sharing Tetfund funds. The number of staff capacity, programs, and academic population matters for consideration. Many schools, even among the polytechnics, waste the Tetfund opportunities while large institutions grapple to manage staff development.

In the case of Kaduna Polytechnic and many polytechnics with large staff, each staff member is only entitled to one study sponsorship opportunity, conferences are based on a two-year interval, and book publishers wait in batches of years because of the large academic staff. This is an issue of consideration for Tetfund.

To buttress the issue of inconsistency; the Executive Secretary of Tetfund expressed dismay when he told a gathering that a tertiary institution, in South-West, receives an annual Tetfund intervention with only 30 students. Arc. Echono stated this in Abuja at the 2025 one-day strategic interactive workshops for heads of institutions, bursars, and heads of procurement of TETFund beneficiary institutions in May 2025.

A more equitable approach should be based on the sharing formula on the number of staff and students, rather than treating all institutions equally. This would ensure that institutions with larger populations and greater needs receive the necessary support to drive academic excellence.

The current formula undermines the efforts of giant institutions that are striving for their staff development. Larger institutions are disadvantaged by the current system, which prioritizes established institutions with small student populations and few staff. This disparity downgrades polytechnics and prioritizes smaller established universities and colleges of education just because of the funding. This disparity may be the cause of having more universities and colleges of education in Nigeria than polytechnics.

To address these inconsistencies, Tetfund should adopt a more nuanced approach that takes into account the unique characteristics and needs of each institution. This could involve a weighted funding formula that considers factors such as student enrollment, JAMB admission seekers per designated institution, staff number, institution needs, and institution capacity.

Despite the introduction of other interventions, polytechnics get the least, for instance, in 2023, Tetfund’s special intervention of N3 billion was earmarked for six selected universities, and N1 billion each was allocated to six polytechnics and six colleges of education across the country.

Implementing a revised sharing formula would not only promote fairness but also enhance the overall quality of education in Nigeria. By prioritizing institutions with greater needs and potential for growth, Tetfund can drive academic excellence and contribute to the country’s development through justifiable intervention.

The Executive Secretary of Tetfund and Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) should consider these recommendations and work towards creating a more equitable and transparent funding allocation process for all tertiary institutions in Nigeria. By doing so, we can ensure that the polytechnic education sector will be equipped to meet the challenges of the 21st century in Nigerian academic and skills pursuit.

Auwal Ahmed Ibrahim, Goronyo, is a lecturer at Kaduna Polytechnic and can be reached via auwalgoronyo@gmail.com.