Public higher education in Nigeria continues to suffer from systemic delays in infrastructure delivery, raising serious concerns about how government intervention funds are managed and utilized. The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), designed to revamp education infrastructure in federal and state institutions, is at the center of this scrutiny, with numerous projects taking years, sometimes a decade to be completed.
The Nigeria Education News team recently visited the Federal College of Education (Special), Oyo, as part of an independent investigation into the status of TETFund building projects in Nigerian public tertiary institutions. The findings were alarming. Many projects that were approved as far back as 2014, 2016, 2020, and 2023 remain either incomplete or were only just finalized in 2025, several years behind schedule.
Perhaps the most shocking discovery was a building project tagged “2014-2016 Annual Intervention”, which was only completed in early 2025 a staggering nine to eleven years after approval. Members of staff who spoke to The Nigeria Education News under the condition of anonymity blamed the long delays on bureaucratic bottlenecks, poor monitoring, and a lack of accountability in both TETFund management and the institution’s leadership.
According to the staff, the building only became partially functional this year, despite the structural work being finalized. Even now, several offices in the building are yet to be furnished, and basic amenities such as internet connectivity, functional restrooms, and power supply remain unavailable. The staff members lamented that this is the norm in Nigerian public institutions, where projects linger for years without explanation.
Further investigations revealed other buildings on campus, including projects under the 2016, 2020, and 2022 intervention funds, that have just recently been completed in 2025. However, these buildings are currently under “finishing stages” and are not yet in use. Paintings, fittings, and furniture are still being installed while some structures sit locked and idle due to pending paperwork between contractors and management.
This sluggish approach to infrastructure development highlights a broader systemic failure in Nigeria’s educational sector. Many observers argue that if education were truly a national priority, such delays would not be tolerated. Unfortunately, years of bureaucracy, corruption, and poor project monitoring have left the TETFund process riddled with inefficiency.
When asked about the reasons for the persistent project delays, several staff members echoed similar sentiments: “This is the Nigerian system. You can’t hold only the school responsible; TETFund, contractors, and bureaucratic red tape all play a role.” Some went as far as accusing specific management officials of contributing to the delay due to vested interests and slow administrative processes.
The situation at Federal College of Education (Special), Oyo, is not unique. Across Nigeria, stories of TETFund projects abandoned, stalled, or delayed for years are commonplace. From federal universities to polytechnics and colleges of education, numerous campuses are dotted with uncompleted structures, despite billions of naira earmarked for their completion.
Critics point to the glorious era of Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Chief Bola Ige, who championed free education and prioritized rapid infrastructural development in the South West region during the First and Second Republics. Many educationists argue that today’s leaders lack the same passion for human capital development, resulting in lackluster progress in education.
Stakeholders say that without reforms in project supervision and transparent reporting, TETFund risks becoming another federal agency mired in waste and inefficiency. There are growing calls for the government to establish independent monitoring committees to track TETFund projects from inception to completion, ensuring that taxpayers’ money is not squandered.
Students on campus also voiced their frustration to the Nigeria Education News team. One 300-level student of the Department of Special Education said, “We watch these buildings go up slowly, year after year. By the time some of them are completed, many of us will have graduated. It’s really disheartening.”
The delayed projects also affect the quality of learning. Inadequate lecture halls, office spaces, and laboratories force both students and lecturers to endure overcrowded classrooms and outdated facilities. This contradicts the original mission of TETFund, which was to close the infrastructure gap in tertiary education.
Experts believe that part of the problem lies in procurement policies and contractor selection processes. Often, contracts are awarded to companies without the technical capacity to deliver within stipulated timeframes, either due to favoritism or political patronage. This leads to projects being abandoned midway or requiring endless revisions.
There is also the issue of fund disbursement delays from TETFund itself. Contractors often complain of long waiting periods between project approval, mobilization funds, and subsequent payments, which stalls progress and pushes projects far beyond their original deadlines.
As Nigeria faces rising unemployment and a skills gap, poorly managed educational infrastructure projects only worsen the crisis. Without quality facilities, institutions cannot produce graduates equipped for the demands of the modern economy. The Nigeria Education News team observed that despite lofty government speeches about education reform, the reality on campuses tells a different story.
Education advocates argue that the country must return to the days of visionary leadership in education. Nigeria needs leaders who see education not as a political token but as a transformative tool for national development. Investment in education should not end at budget allocation; timely delivery, quality control, and accountability must follow.
In conclusion, the state of TETFund projects in federal institutions like the Federal College of Education (Special), Oyo, is a glaring indictment of Nigeria’s current approach to education management. The Nigeria Education News calls on the Federal Government, the National Assembly, and civil society organizations to demand reforms that ensure timely, transparent, and quality execution of all educational projects.
