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Nigerian varsities overstretched – TETFund

By Saheed Ibrahim

The Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Architect Sonny Echono, has raised concerns over the overstretching of facilities in Nigerian public universities due to the country’s growing student population.

Speaking at the 34th Convocation Lecture of Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, Echono attributed the challenges facing the nation’s tertiary institutions to economic decline and political instability.

These factors, he said, have hindered sustainable funding, leading to deteriorating infrastructure and inadequate facilities.

He explained that lecture halls, student hostels, and equipment in public universities are struggling to accommodate the increasing number of students, despite interventions by TETFund.

While acknowledging the agency’s contributions, he noted that many pressing needs remain unmet.

Echono revealed that over 152,838 infrastructure projects had been executed in public tertiary institutions since 2013.

Additionally, he said TETFund has sponsored scholarships for more than 42,000 scholars, both locally and internationally.

“TETFund has made significant achievements in infrastructure development across universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education. Projects include Senate buildings, classrooms, lecture theatres, ICT centres, laboratories, libraries, and student hostels,” he stated.

To address accommodation shortages, he announced that TETFund will partner with the private sector to provide student hostels for 72 institutions in 2025. The agency also plans to introduce alternative power solutions to tackle electricity supply challenges in tertiary institutions.

Echono reaffirmed TETFund’s commitment to becoming a world-class education intervention agency, supporting research, innovation, and the commercialisation of research products. He emphasised that alongside infrastructure, educational content development will remain a key focus in the years ahead.

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