The Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Arc. Sonny Echono, has disclosed that the agency has released over N300 billion to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) to support the Federal Government’s student loan scheme.

Echono said the intervention was aimed at expanding access to tertiary education and easing the financial burden on students, warning, however, that the sustainability of some of TETFund’s programmes could depend on future government policy decisions.

He spoke in Abuja at the 2026 TETFund Board of Trustees National Town Hall Meeting with stakeholders, held under the theme, “Investing in Nigeria’s Future: Tertiary Education, Human Capital and National Development.”

According to him, TETFund played a significant role in the processes leading to the establishment and operationalisation of NELFUND, describing the student loan scheme as a major initiative of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

“Nearly all the funds that have been released to Nigerian students, over N300 billion of it, was provided to NELFUND by the Federal Government,” Echono said.

The TETFund boss listed several interventions aimed at improving the welfare of university and other tertiary institution workers, promoting student innovation, expanding research capacity and strengthening digital learning.

He disclosed that an interest-free loan scheme had been approved for lecturers and non-teaching staff in tertiary institutions, while a separate student innovation fund would enable young innovators to develop inventions and transform their ideas into marketable products.

Echono also said TETFund was expanding investments in research infrastructure, including multipurpose research laboratories, one of which President Tinubu had agreed to commission in Abuja.

He added that more than 418 projects were ready for commissioning across beneficiary institutions, while modern student hostels were being constructed in 114 institutions and transportation provided for students in 42 institutions.

The executive secretary urged stakeholders to sustain the interventions, cautioning that policy decisions that failed to support their continuation could threaten some of the programmes.

Earlier, the Chairman of TETFund’s Board of Trustees, Aminu Bello Masari, disclosed that the agency’s funding had risen from N320.3 billion in 2023 to N1.6 trillion in 2025, reflecting a substantial increase in government investment in tertiary education.

Masari, a former governor of Katsina State, attributed the growth to the commitment of the Tinubu administration to strengthening the country’s tertiary education system.

He said the agency’s funding rose to N683.4 billion in 2024 before reaching N1.6 trillion in 2025, representing an approximately fivefold increase over the 2023 figure.

According to him, the increased funding had strengthened beneficiary institutions’ capacity to improve infrastructure, academic programmes, research facilities and the overall learning environment.

“For the 2026 annual direct intervention alone, 271 beneficiary institutions are covered,” Masari said.

He listed the allocations at approximately N2.526 billion for each university, N1.871 billion for each polytechnic and N2.057 billion for each college of education.

However, the TETFund chairman said the success of the investments should not be measured merely by the amount of money released or the number of facilities constructed, but by the quality of graduates produced and their contributions to national development.

Masari disclosed that TETFund had committed N10 billion in 2026 to developing skills acquisition centres in polytechnics nationwide as part of efforts to strengthen technical and vocational education.

He said the agency was supporting skills development centres with training equipment and consumables, while also training quality assurance assessors to improve the standard of skills acquisition programmes.

The chairman said the skills development programme complemented TETFund’s support for innovation and entrepreneurship centres, as well as the N48 billion approved for upgrading engineering and technology facilities in 12 universities.

On research, Masari disclosed that approximately N6.09 billion had been approved for 174 successful proposals under the 2025 National Research Fund grant cycle.

He urged beneficiary institutions to ensure transparency, prudent financial management and proper maintenance of facilities provided through the agency’s interventions.

Also speaking, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, urged tertiary institutions to translate increased government investment into measurable improvements in teaching, research, governance and graduate quality.

Akume, represented by Aliyu Zakari-Jiya, said TETFund’s impact should not be judged solely by the number of buildings constructed, but also by the quality of scholarship and the capacity of graduates to contribute meaningfully to society.

He called on beneficiary institutions to ensure accountability and prompt utilisation of funds to achieve the objectives for which the resources were provided.

Similarly, the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, represented by the Minister of State for Education, Suwaiba Ahmad, reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to human capital development through education reforms, research, innovation and professional development.

Alausa said infrastructure development must go hand in hand with investments in lecturers, teachers, researchers and other education professionals to ensure that institutions had the personnel required to operate and maintain the facilities.

He also highlighted the ongoing review of curricula and national occupational standards to make education more responsive to industry requirements and labour market demands.