The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) has released over ₦100 billion to selected tertiary institutions across Nigeria as part of a drive to strengthen training in medical sciences and address the shortage of healthcare professionals in the country.
Chairman of the TETFUND Governing Board, Aminu Masari, announced the intervention in Katsina on Saturday, explaining that it aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s directive to stem the brain drain affecting Nigeria’s health sector.
According to Masari, the President is concerned about the loss of skilled medical personnel and its adverse effect on the healthcare system, and has endorsed targeted measures such as the current intervention to rebuild capacity.
Under the programme, three tertiary institutions from each geopolitical zone have been allocated ₦4 billion each to undertake projects and expand their academic programmes in medical sciences. The initiative aims to increase the intake and training of doctors, nurses, pharmacists, laboratory technicians and other professionals essential to healthcare delivery.
Masari noted that, although TETFUND implements interventions annually at state and zonal levels, the medical sciences scheme has been designated as the Fund’s high-impact intervention for 2025. He added that a monitoring and evaluation team, including independent consultants, will oversee the projects to ensure that the funds are used strictly for their intended purposes.
The TETFUND chairman disclosed that the 2025 allocation marks the agency’s highest disbursement to date, ₦1.6 trillion generated from the three per cent education tax on company profits as stipulated by the TETFUND Act. Of this amount, ₦460 billion has been set aside for various projects in tertiary institutions across the country, with one university, one polytechnic and one college of education selected in each state to benefit according to their specific needs.
He further revealed that ₦225 billion from the allocation has been channelled to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund to support the Federal Government’s student loan scheme, while ₦70 billion has been earmarked for energy support to enable institutions to develop solar or gas-powered electricity systems.
In addition, TETFUND has provided ₦25 billion to bolster security in some tertiary institutions, with the funds to be used for initiatives such as installing street lighting and other safety infrastructure on campuses.
Masari urged parents to resist the temptation of rushing their children into higher education before they are ready, stressing the importance of allowing young people to mature naturally. He also warned against attempts to secure admissions through bribery, describing it as an unhealthy practice that exposes the younger generation to corruption.
