Federal Gov’t Directs Varsities, Others To Share Critical Data

Federal government has directed all vice-chancellors, rectors and provosts of federal tertiary schools to publish key institutional data on their official websites with immediate effect.

To comply with this directive, all federal institutions are required to update their websites not later than May 31, 2025.

The minister of education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, said the move aims to promote transparency, accountability and good governance within Nigeria’s tertiary education system.

The director of press and public relations in the ministry, Boriowo Folasade, who stated this in a press statement yesterday, quoted the minister as saying that each institution must disclose its annual budgetary allocation in full detail, including the breakdown of expenditure across three key areas: personnel costs, overhead costs and capital expenditure.

Additionally, institutions must disclose their research grant revenue from the previous year.

“This data should be categorised into two distinct sources: grants from domestic bodies such as local industries, government agencies, or foundations, and grants from international sources, including foreign institutions, multilateral organisations and development partners,” the statement said.

Furthermore, institutions are required to display their TETFund allocations for the current year, clearly showing the total amount received for academic and infrastructure development.

The directive also mandates the publication of the total value of the institutions’ endowment funds as recorded at the end of the previous year. This figure, which reflects funds donated or invested for the institutions’ long-term financial health, must be updated quarterly.

Finally, institutions must present their current total students population, categorised into undergraduate and postgraduate levels, providing a clear picture of enrolment and institutional capacity.

The ministry emphasised that this information must be displayed in a clear, accessible and user-friendly format to ensure public visibility. Websites should be structured in a way that allows the public including parents, students and other stakeholders to easily locate and understand these data points.

To ensure compliance, the Federal Ministry of Education said it would conduct periodic reviews of institutional websites and take appropriate administrative actions against non-compliant institutions. These reviews will be used to assess compliance and inform policy decisions that promote transparency, the ministry said.