Education Ministry Integrates 119 Tertiary Institutions Into Transparency Portal
The Federal Ministry of Education has disclosed that 119 out of 124 federal government-owned tertiary institutions have been integrated into the Federal Tertiary Institutions Governance Transparency Portal (FTIGTP), a platform designed to strengthen transparency and accountability in Nigeria’s higher education system.
The data, sourced through the Nigerian Education Data Infrastructure (NEDI), forms part of efforts to modernise education data management across the country.
According to information published on the ministry’s Nigeria Education Sector Renewal Initiative portal, about 32 million students and 221,229 schools across 21 states have so far been captured under the NEDI platform.
A breakdown of the integrated institutions shows that 57 of 60 federal universities, 35 of 36 polytechnics, and 27 of 28 colleges of education have successfully uploaded and submitted their data to the FTIGTP platform.
The portal was introduced to track and analyse key performance indicators and funding metrics across tertiary institutions over the past three years. It also provides interactive reports and visual data to support evidence-based decision-making within the education sector.
Launched in 2025, the initiative mandated federal tertiary institutions to publicly publish important institutional data, including student enrollment figures, budgets, research grants, and intervention funds.
Earlier in May 2025, the Federal Government introduced a minimum student enrollment benchmark of 2,000 students per tertiary institution. However, following concerns raised by institutional administrators, the threshold was later reduced by half.
Speaking at the 2025 Policy Meeting in Abuja, the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmad, announced that institutions with fewer than 1,000 students would no longer qualify for funding from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).
She questioned the fairness of allocating equal resources to institutions with significantly lower student populations compared to larger schools.
The Executive Secretary of TETFund, Sonny Echono, confirmed that the policy is already being implemented using a “carrot-and-stick” approach aimed at encouraging institutions to improve their standards.
According to him, funding allocations are now based on measurable performance indicators such as curriculum quality, student impact, research output, and staff development.
“Allocations are now competitive, with interventions given to institutions that can demonstrate their ability to use the funds effectively,” he stated.
He added that institutions failing to meet the required benchmarks would have their funds withheld until they provide evidence of compliance, although he declined to reveal the names of affected schools.
Meanwhile, stakeholders have continued to praise the National Education Data Infrastructure initiative, describing it as a transformative step for Nigeria’s education sector.
Former Minister of Aviation and Chancellor of the Athena Centre for Policy and Leadership, Osita Chidoka, described the programme as one of Nigeria’s most important national infrastructure projects in recent years.
According to Chidoka, the centralised education data system will improve transparency, strengthen accountability, and support evidence-based policymaking and resource allocation.
He noted that reliable education data is essential for tackling challenges such as out-of-school children, inadequate infrastructure, teacher shortages, and unequal access to quality education nationwide.
He further praised the Nigeria Education Management Information System, developed by Ernst & Young, describing it as “a national treasure” capable of simplifying education data analysis and improving policy decisions across the country.
