The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) has disbursed over ₦100 billion to selected tertiary institutions across Nigeria to expand training in medical sciences and tackle the shortage of healthcare professionals in the country.
The Chairman of the TETFUND Governing Board, Aminu Masari, announced the development in Katsina on Saturday. He explained that the intervention is in line with President Bola Tinubu’s directive to address the brain drain in the health sector and strengthen the nation’s healthcare system.
“Mr. President is deeply concerned about the impact of brain drain on the Nigerian healthcare system. He has therefore initiated measures to help the system recover, one of which is this high-impact intervention by TETFUND,” Masari said.
According to him, three tertiary institutions from each of Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones have received ₦4 billion each to implement projects and expand their academic programmes in medical fields. The initiative, he noted, is aimed at doubling the number of doctors, nurses, pharmacists, laboratory scientists, and other health professionals in the country.
Masari revealed that the 2025 allocation marks TETFUND’s highest grant so far, with ₦1.6 trillion generated from the 3% education tax on company profits, as stipulated in the TETFUND Act. Out of this amount, ₦460 billion—representing 40 per cent of the total—has been set aside for various interventions in tertiary institutions.
For state-level projects, three institutions—one university, one polytechnic, and one college of education—were selected from each state based on their specific needs and requests.
The TETFUND chairman also disclosed that ₦225 billion from the 2025 allocation was released to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund to support the Federal Government’s student loan scheme. In addition, ₦70 billion has been earmarked to provide energy solutions for tertiary institutions through solar or gas-powered facilities, while ₦25 billion will assist institutions in improving campus security, including the installation of street lighting and related infrastructure.
Masari emphasised that all funded projects would be closely monitored by a dedicated team of consultants to ensure the proper utilisation of resources.
“TETFUND carries out annual interventions at state and zonal levels, but this medical sciences initiative is our flagship high-impact project for 2025,” he stated
