The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) has become a key player in improving Nigeria’s higher education system, especially under the leadership of Arc Sonny Echono. The Tinubu administration is focused on updating the education system to make it more inclusive and in tune with global trends. A major part of this effort is to enhance tertiary education, which has faced problems like outdated infrastructure, insufficient funding, and unmotivated staff.
Under Echono’s leadership, TETFund has been important in driving these improvements. His work aligns with President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope agenda, which aims to restore the quality of Nigeria’s higher education. The changes brought by TETFund have been so significant that even the most doubtful observers have acknowledged its success.
TETFund’s impact was recognized at the 9th Africa Leadership Magazine Summit in London, where Echono received the Africa Leadership Excellence Award in Educational Development from the Prime Minister of the Bahamas, HE. Philip Davis. This award highlights Echono’s success in guiding TETFund to adopt best practices and policies that are transforming the education sector.
The organization has also made great progress in integrating technology into the curriculum and teaching methods at public universities across Nigeria. TETFund’s commitment to innovation was further confirmed when it won the 2024 Anthology Visionary Award for Leadership in transforming education through technology at an event in Orlando, United States. This global recognition, along with the Outstanding Public Servant of the Year award from Champions Newspaper Limited, shows the agency’s dedication.
Testimonies from universities and other stakeholders further showcase TETFund’s success. For example, Professor Lilian Salami, Vice Chancellor of the University of Benin, called TETFund a “messiah” for revitalizing Nigeria’s higher education. She praised the current management for their focus on research and advanced technology. Similarly, Professor Charles Esimone, former Vice Chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, noted that TETFund’s leadership under Echono has restored trust in the agency through its innovative strategies.
TETFund’s transparency and efforts to reform its processes have also been important to its success. These reforms have made project delivery smoother, reduced corruption, and increased overall efficiency. The agency now ensures that all projects are chosen based on the needs of the institutions rather than being driven by vendors, which improves its effectiveness.
TETFund has also played a key role in improving Nigeria’s education system through programs like Research for Impact (R4i) and TETFund Alliance for Innovative Research (TETFAIR). These initiatives have advanced research at public universities, benefiting over 600 lecturers from R4i in 2023 alone. The program has led to the creation of 95 prototypes, including an affordable, self-programmable hearing aid designed for the African market.
In his keynote speech at the Africa Leadership Magazine Summit in London, Echono emphasized the need for policies that enable Africa to tackle challenges and seize global opportunities. He expressed his vision for TETFund to keep advancing educational progress, ensuring that Nigeria’s higher education institutions can adapt to and meet the demands of a changing world.
