The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has announced plans to closely scrutinise how funds allocated to public universities through the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) are being managed across Nigeria’s higher institutions. The union said the move is aimed at improving transparency and ensuring that intervention funds are used for the purposes they were intended.

ASUU President Chris Piwuna disclosed the development in Abuja during the public presentation of several academic textbooks sponsored by TETFund. He said the union had observed lapses in the supervision and utilisation of some TETFund projects in universities and would therefore begin a review of how the resources are managed by university authorities.

According to him TETFund has provided significant financial support for infrastructure research and academic development in Nigerian universities over the years. However he stressed that the effectiveness of these interventions depends on proper management and strict accountability by the institutions that receive the funds.

The ASUU president explained that the union intends to carry out a comprehensive review of projects funded by TETFund in universities across the country. The exercise will assess whether the funds have been properly utilised for building facilities supporting research and strengthening academic programmes.

Piwuna also raised concerns about the performance of some TETFund supported Centres of Excellence. He noted that while the programme has expanded in recent years there is a need for stronger monitoring to ensure that the centres deliver results that justify the level of investment made in them.

Reacting to the development the Minister of Education Tunji Alausa expressed support for stronger oversight of public funds in the education sector. He said the Federal Government is ready to work with ASUU and other stakeholders to improve accountability and transparency