ASUU demands probe of vice chancellors over alleged misuse of TETFund allocations as the education minister backs stronger oversight

The Academic Staff Union of Universities has announced plans to scrutinise vice chancellors of public universities over alleged corruption and mismanagement of funds allocated through the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, with the Federal Government expressing support for the move.

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President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, Chris Piwuna, raised the concerns on Wednesday in Abuja during the public presentation of 72 academic textbooks sponsored by TETFund.

Chris Piwuna said that although universities have received significant financial support in recent years, some institutions have failed to utilise the funds effectively.

“Yes, there is plenty of money being given to the universities in recent years. Sadly, many of them have not utilised it effectively.

While some of them have mismanaged it, others have used it for purposes different from what it was meant for,” Chris Piwuna said.

The union leader warned that the organisation would soon intensify oversight of university leadership to ensure accountability in the use of intervention funds.

“We are going to turn our searchlights on the vice chancellors and our universities soon. Honestly, we will.

Because funds are not being properly managed at the university levels, we are going to take them up to make sure that they account for all of them,” Chris Piwuna said.

Chris Piwuna also expressed concern about the performance of several Centres of Excellence funded by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, noting that many were performing below expectations despite substantial financial support.

In response, Nigeria’s Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, endorsed the proposed scrutiny and called for stronger accountability across tertiary institutions.

Tunji Alausa said the government was concerned that some vice chancellors, rectors and provosts were running institutions without sufficient oversight.

“Several of our Vice Chancellors, Rectors and Provosts are running the institutions like an empire,” Tunji Alausa said.

The minister urged the Academic Staff Union of Universities to work with the government to ensure that funds allocated to institutions are used strictly for their intended purposes.

“Every single money that we deploy to those institutions should be used the way they are meant to be used. We would work with you to ensure that that’s being done,” Tunji Alausa added.

The Tertiary Education Trust Fund was established under the TETFund Act of 2011 as a statutory intervention agency designed to strengthen Nigeria’s public tertiary education system.

The agency supplements government funding for universities, polytechnics and colleges of education through disbursements derived from a two per cent education tax paid by registered companies.

Its mandate includes financing infrastructure, research, academic staff training, instructional materials and equipment in public tertiary institutions across the country.

While many stakeholders credit the fund for supporting critical projects that might not have been possible through routine government budgets, debates over transparency and project execution have persisted within the education sector.

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Education experts say stronger oversight of how institutions manage TETFund allocations could help ensure that the resources achieve their intended impact on teaching, research and learning environments nationwide.