In a startling revelation, Arc. Sonny Echono, Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), disclosed that the agency had paid nearly ₦100 million per lecturer under its foreign scholarship scheme—only to have many of them abscond after completing their programs abroad.
The scholarship scheme, which was designed to upscale the capacity of lecturers in Nigeria’s public tertiary institutions, has now been suspended indefinitely due to what Echono described as a “double tragedy”—the rising cost of funding and the increasing number of beneficiaries who vanish overseas without returning to serve their institutions.
“We pay in dollars, pounds, euros, and other currencies. With the naira’s sharp decline, the cost per lecturer reached close to ₦100 million in some cases,” Echono explained in an interview with TheCable. “Worse still, many refused to come back after their studies.”
The foreign exchange crisis played a critical role, turning what was once a noble national investment into a financial sinkhole. TETFund found itself allocating enormous sums to train a single individual, only for Nigerian universities to be left without the academic returns they were promised.
Fraudulent Exits and Policy Reversal
According to Echono, some of the lecturers continued to receive salaries from their home institutions during their stay abroad—despite having no intention of returning. “We’re not against seeking greener pastures, but not by defrauding the system,” he stated.
The government tried to enforce accountability through partnerships with foreign universities but encountered loopholes and evasive tactics, including scholars transferring between countries or staying underground for extended periods.
This led to the November 2024 suspension of the foreign training scheme. However, exceptions remain for fields unavailable in Nigeria, such as specialized courses at the Aviation University, which was granted a waiver just weeks ago.
Local Scholarship Scheme Booms
Rather than abandon the pursuit of academic excellence, TETFund has redirected funds towards local training programs, offering greater value for money.
“For each person sent abroad, we can now train eight to ten locally,” said Echono. “The funding hasn’t decreased—in fact, we’ve increased it. What we’re seeing now is an explosion in the local training program.”
The shift emphasizes national capacity building while addressing systemic abuses that plagued the international arm of the programme.
Implications:
Over ₦100 million lost per defector in some cases Foreign scholarship suspended since November 2024 High rate of abscondment by government-sponsored scholars New focus on local training with improved accessibility and sustainability Selective waivers granted for unavailable local programs
As Nigeria grapples with fiscal tightening and the demand for educational reform, TETFund’s decision signals a critical pivot toward homegrown solutions—placing the burden of change not just on the system, but on the integrity of the scholars it serves.
