The Federal Government has given all tertiary institutions in Nigeria 30 days to use their unspent and unaccessed education intervention funds or risk losing them.
The Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, issued the directive during a meeting with Vice Chancellors, Rectors, Provosts, Bursars, and Procurement Officers in Abuja.
He said the era of leaving education funds unused was over, noting that the failure to spend allocated money was slowing down national development.
“This meeting is not to trade blame but to find solutions,” Dr. Alausa said. “Funds that could have improved our classrooms, laboratories, and libraries have been left idle for years because of bureaucracy. That must stop.”
He ordered all institutions to submit reports of their unutilised funds within 30 days, warning that any money left unused would be redirected to other priority projects. “Carrying over funds without strong reasons will no longer be tolerated,” he added.
The Minister also expressed concern that large sums of money were lying dormant in the Central Bank, saying such neglect deprives students of better learning environments and slows institutional growth.
To promote transparency, Dr. Alausa announced plans to launch a public dashboard that will show how TETFund money is distributed and spent. “Every TETFund naira represents public trust,” he said. “We must ensure that these resources are used wisely and openly.”
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Abel Enitan, described the issue as a national emergency and urged institutions to remove administrative delays and produce visible results within clear timelines.
