The Gambia Moves to Replicate Nigeria’s TETFund Model

The Government of The Gambia has announced plans to undertake a study tour of Nigeria’s Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) as part of efforts to strengthen funding for tertiary education in the West African country.

The announcement was made in Abuja when The Gambia’s Minister of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology, Prof. Pierre Gomez, led a high-powered delegation to the Executive Secretary of TETFund, Sonny Echono, at the Fund’s headquarters.

Gomez disclosed that The Gambia had established the Tertiary and Higher Education Trust (THET) Fund, modelled after Nigeria’s TETFund, and would soon send officials to Nigeria to understudy its operations and intervention programmes.

He said Gambian authorities had closely followed TETFund’s activities and achievements through its website, social media platforms and other media outlets, which influenced the decision to adopt a similar intervention model for the country’s higher institutions.

According to him, the study tour would enable Gambian officials to gain first-hand knowledge of TETFund’s operations, funding mechanisms and intervention strategies, with a view to strengthening the newly established THET Fund.

Responding, TETFund Executive Secretary, Sonny Echono, welcomed the Gambian delegation and provided an overview of the Fund’s evolution from the Education Trust Fund (ETF) into Nigeria’s foremost intervention agency for tertiary education.

Echono explained that TETFund was established against the backdrop of the funding crisis that confronted Nigeria’s tertiary education system more than three decades ago.

He noted that the Fund was created to provide an alternative and sustainable source of funding for public tertiary institutions, supporting infrastructure, academic development and other critical needs across the sector.

The engagement is expected to further deepen educational cooperation between Nigeria and The Gambia, particularly in the area of sustainable funding and development of tertiary education.