By Muhammad Mamman
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has announced plans to monitor and track projects funded by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) across Nigerian universities in a bid to strengthen transparency and accountability in the management of public funds.
Speaking on Wednesday in Abuja, the union’s president, Chris Piwuna, said ASUU would begin a systematic review of how TETFund allocations are utilised in tertiary institutions nationwide.
Piwuna made the remarks during the public presentation of 82 academic textbooks sponsored by TETFund, an intervention programme designed to support research, learning materials and infrastructure in Nigeria’s higher education system.
He said the initiative by ASUU was prompted by concerns over lapses in the supervision and utilisation of some TETFund-supported projects.
“We have observed gaps in how some of these interventions are supervised and implemented,” Piwuna said. “As a union that is deeply invested in the development of the university system, we will track these projects to ensure the funds are properly utilised.”
According to him, the monitoring effort is aimed at safeguarding public resources while ensuring that universities fully benefit from government interventions meant to strengthen teaching, research and infrastructure.
The ASUU president also emphasised that the textbooks unveiled at the event demonstrate the impact of TETFund’s support for academic scholarship, adding that sustained investment in locally produced academic materials would help improve the quality of higher education in Nigeria.
The Academic Staff Union of Universities has frequently advocated stronger oversight of funding allocated to universities, arguing that transparency in the management of education funds is crucial to addressing the sector’s long-standing challenges.
The Tertiary Education Trust Fund is a government intervention agency established to provide funding for public tertiary institutions in Nigeria, supporting infrastructure development, research and academic capacity building.
