FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ORDERS PHASE-OUT OF SATELLITE CAMPUSES
The Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, has announced sweeping reforms to Nigeria’s tertiary education sector, including a proposed ban on satellite campuses and new criteria for accessing TETFund support.
At a stakeholders’ forum in Lagos, Alausa said institutions with fewer than 2,000 students after five years of existence would no longer be eligible for TETFund grants. He stressed that resources must be optimized and that tertiary education must move away from political patronage. “We want value for every kobo spent. Migrate away from satellite campuses,” he urged school heads.
Alausa also disclosed that 85% of students sponsored abroad on government scholarships never return, prompting a shift toward investing in local capacity. In response, the ministry has created 28 postgraduate Centres of Excellence across Nigeria to reduce brain drain and boost institutional performance.
TETFund Executive Secretary Sonny Echono added that institutions mismanaging funds or underperforming will be removed from the beneficiary list, as the agency pivots toward public-private partnerships and more sustainable funding mechanisms.
