By Felix Khanoba
The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) has commissioned an Academic Publishing Centre (APC) at Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK), Awka, Anambra State, to strengthen academic research, indigenous textbook production and publishing capacity across tertiary institutions in the South-East.
The facility, commissioned on Friday, November 6, 2026, by the Chairman of TETFund Board of Trustees, Right Hon. Aminu Bello Masari, is designed to serve as a regional publishing hub, providing universities and other higher institutions with access to modern printing equipment and professional publishing services.
The initiative is also expected to address longstanding challenges associated with the production of academic textbooks and other scholarly materials in Nigerian tertiary institutions.
Speaking at the commissioning ceremony, Masari, who was represented by the South-East member of the Board, Esther Ukachukwu, said the establishment of the centre underscored the Fund’s commitment to improving teaching, learning and research through strategic interventions in the tertiary education sector.
He explained that TETFund’s Higher Education Book Development Project was conceived to expand access to quality academic publications while strengthening indigenous publishing capacity in Nigerian universities and other tertiary institutions.
Masari disclosed that the Board of Trustees had submitted a proposal to the Federal Government for N2 billion to kick-start the Higher Education Book Development Project in 2009, which was subsequently approved.
He added that an additional N2.95 billion was provided in 2019, while the Technical Advisory Group Committee was reinvigorated and inaugurated in August of the same year to strengthen the implementation of the project.
According to him, one of the project’s major objectives was to establish and equip model Academic Publishing Centres in selected institutions across the six geopolitical zones and the Federal Capital Territory, with the facilities providing services to public tertiary institutions within their respective regions.
The UNIZIK-based centre is expected to serve universities and other higher institutions across the South-East by providing the necessary facilities and professional support for the production of academic textbooks and scholarly publications.
The TETFund chairman described education as a strategic sector deserving priority attention, assuring that the Fund would continue to introduce interventions that promote innovation, improve learning outcomes and strengthen research development.
He said: “TETFund will continue to deliver responsive intervention programmes and will be at the forefront in promoting creative and innovative approaches to educational learning and championing new literacy enhancing areas.”
Masari, however, charged the university and other beneficiary institutions in the South-East to ensure that the facility was properly managed, effectively utilised and sustained.
“It is the expectation of the Fund and that of the Federal Government that the beneficiaries will reciprocate this gesture by ensuring that the APC located in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State, is put into operation, properly managed and sustained by the host and beneficiary institutions within the zone,” he said.
He also called for the cooperation of relevant stakeholders to ensure the successful take-off of the centre, assuring that TETFund would remain committed to transparency and accountability in the discharge of its responsibilities.
In his remarks, the Vice-Chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University and Chairman of the Academic Publishing Centre Board, Prof. Bond Ugochukwu Stanley Anyaehie, described the commissioning as a significant milestone for the institution and the South-East academic community.
Anyaehie pledged the university’s commitment to ensuring that the facility became fully operational and served its intended purpose.
Expressing optimism about the centre’s prospects, the Vice-Chancellor said the university would work with other institutions in the region to ensure its effective management and sustainability.
“So, on my honour, I pledge to make use of it, and try to operate the board and also getting input from other universities to see how we can run it, and do all we can do to protect it,” he said.
He also expressed appreciation to TETFund for locating the project at UNIZIK, while appealing for additional interventions to support the university and other tertiary institutions in the region.
The commissioning ceremony featured an inspection of the centre’s facilities, including modern printing machines and other state-of-the-art equipment installed to support academic publishing.
Personnel were also seen on duty at the facility, indicating preparations for the commencement of operations.
The centre is expected to provide a common platform for tertiary institutions across the South-East to produce academic textbooks and other educational materials locally, reduce dependence on external publishing services and improve the visibility of research outputs from the region.
The project represents another TETFund intervention aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s tertiary education system through sustained investments in research, infrastructure and academic development.
