Katsina State Governor, Dikko Umaru Radda, has urged the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) to align its support for lecturers and academic development with global trends and Nigeria’s economic realities to produce graduates capable of solving the country’s pressing challenges.
Radda said while TETFund’s interventions had significantly improved infrastructure and expanded the capacity of tertiary institutions, greater emphasis should be placed on equipping lecturers and students with relevant skills to address emerging national and global challenges.
The governor spoke with journalists on the sidelines of the 2026 TETFund Board of Trustees National Town Hall Meeting in Abuja on Thursday.
He commended the fund for its contributions to the development of tertiary education in Katsina State, noting that its interventions had benefited state owned universities, other tertiary institutions and federal institutions located in the state.
“Katsina State has benefited greatly from the intervention of TETFund. They have done so much in the development of our state universities, state tertiary institutions, as well as federal tertiary institutions,” he said.
The governor, however, stressed the need for academic support programmes to reflect changing global realities and the country’s economic challenges, arguing that university education should equip graduates to develop practical solutions to societal problems.
“We should ensure that what they are supporting the lecturers with is in tune with the global challenges that we are facing, and it has to be along with the economic challenges the country faces, so that our graduates will be solving problems,” he said.
Radda added that investments in tertiary education should extend beyond physical infrastructure to strengthen teaching, learning, research and the capacity of institutions to produce graduates with relevant knowledge and skills.
He expressed optimism that sustained TETFund interventions would improve the quality of higher education and enable tertiary institutions to contribute more effectively to national development.
TETFund provides funding for public tertiary institutions across Nigeria, with interventions covering infrastructure, academic staff development, research and other initiatives aimed at improving the quality of higher education.
The 2026 National Town Hall Meeting brings together stakeholders to review the impact of the fund’s interventions and discuss priorities for strengthening tertiary education in the country.
