Gambia Moves to Adopt Nigeria’s TETFund Model for Tertiary Education Funding

Gambia plans to adopt Nigeria’s TETFund model through its newly established THET Fund to create sustainable funding for tertiary education.

The Gambian Minister of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology, Prof. Pierre Gomez, disclosed this on Monday when he led a high-powered delegation to the Executive Secretary of TETFund, Sonny Echono, at the Fund’s headquarters in Abuja.

Gomez said The Gambian government had established the Tertiary and Higher Education Trust (THET) Fund, modelled after Nigeria’s TETFund, to provide support for higher education institutions in the country.

He said officials of the newly established THET Fund would soon undertake a study tour of TETFund to gain first-hand knowledge of its operations, funding structure and intervention programmes

According to him, The Gambian authorities had over the years closely monitored TETFund’s activities and achievements through its website, social media platforms and other media channels.

He said the experience convinced The Gambian government that a similar intervention mechanism could help address some of the funding challenges confronting tertiary institutions in the country.

Gomez said the planned study tour would enable Gambian officials to understudy TETFund’s operations and draw lessons that could be adapted to the Gambian higher education system.

He also sought closer collaboration between TETFund and THET Fund, particularly in research and capacity development. “Such collaboration would contribute to the development of higher education in both countries while strengthening diplomatic relations between Nigeria and The Gambia,” he said.

Responding, Echono welcomed the Gambian delegation and provided an overview of TETFund’s history, evolution and intervention programmes.

He explained that TETFund evolved from the Education Trust Fund (ETF), established against the backdrop of the funding crisis that confronted Nigeria’s tertiary education sector more than three decades ago.

According to him, the crisis prompted the Federal Government and other stakeholders to seek an alternative source of funding for tertiary institutions.

Echono said that before the introduction of the new Development Levy by the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2026, TETFund was funded through a three per cent education tax on the assessable profits of companies registered in Nigeria.

He noted that only public tertiary institutions were the beneficiaries of the Fund’s interventions, adding that the agency’s interventions were designed to address critical needs in tertiary institutions and improve standards in teaching, learning, research and academic development.

He listed the intervention areas to include essential physical infrastructure, instructional materials and equipment, research and publication, academic staff training and development, as well as other critical areas necessary for improving and maintaining standards in higher education.

Meanwhile, the planned study tour is expected to give Gambian officials an opportunity to examine TETFund’s institutional framework and intervention model as the country develops its own mechanism for supporting tertiary education.

Other members of The Gambian delegation were the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology, Ms. Isatou Auber; Deputy Permanent Secretary (Technical), Dr. Samba Sowe; and Project Coordinator, CPCU, Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, Ms. Ndey Anta Taal.