Federal Government Releases N50bn Needs Assessment Fund To Varsities

The Federal Government has released N50 billion from the N200 billion Needs Assessment Fund (NAF) promised under its recent agreement with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, disclosed this during an interview on Arise News Channel on Sunday, saying another N50 billion would be released soon, bringing total disbursement to N100 billion.

According to him, the Ministry of Education will meet with heads of universities, polytechnics and colleges of education to determine how the funds will be utilised.

The Needs Assessment Fund is part of the 2009 ASUU–FG agreement, whose renegotiation, due in 2013, stalled for over a decade before it was concluded on December 23, 2025, and unveiled on January 14. Alausa said the implementation of the renegotiated 2025 agreement commenced immediately after signing.

“This is not about showmanship or grandstanding. The implementation circular was issued before the end of December,” he said.

He noted that the agreement had helped stabilise the university system, stressing that federal universities have not experienced any strike in the past two academic sessions.

The minister also revealed that the ministry has established a Labour and Union Activities Unit to ensure proper implementation of agreements with workers’ unions.

On unpaid salaries from the 2022 ASUU strike, Alausa said President Bola Tinubu approved payment of half of the eight-month arrears, which, he added, had already been paid.

“The agreement was 50 per cent, and the president paid five months within his first six months in office. There was never a promise to pay eight months,” he said.

He admitted that the agreement was not properly documented at the time, describing it as a lapse in institutional record-keeping.

Alausa further disclosed that universities, polytechnics and colleges of education were removed from IPPIS in January 2025.

“They are not being paid on IPPIS again. You can go and fact-check me,” he stated.

He added that institutions have also been allowed to move research and endowment funds from the Treasury Single Account (TSA) to commercial banks to improve access.

On broader reforms, the minister said the government was revamping technical and vocational education and training (TVET), including plans to allow polytechnics to award degrees.

He said vocational trades have been reduced from 98 to 25 based on labour-market needs, with stipends introduced for trainees.

According to him, technical education is now free in all 36 federal technical colleges, with 70 per cent practical training and a final-year industrial attachment modelled after Germany’s dual system. Under the programme, students receive monthly stipends of about N25,000, while the government funds training centres.