The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) yesterday said it had approved N6.4 billion to fund 217 proposals for researchers to conduct cutting-edge researches in public tertiary institutions across the country.
The agency said it approved the grants under its 2020 National Research Fund grant cycle.
The agent’s Executive Secretary, Prof. Suleiman Bogoro, announced this yesterday in Abuja at the formal inauguration of the biennial TETFund National Research Fund Screening and Monitoring Committee (NRFS&MC), as well as the Technical Advisory Group (TAG).
Bogoro, who explained that the grant cycle of 2020 was concluded in January of that year, added that the awardees were selected from public tertiary institutions and research institutes after rigorous screening by the National Research Fund Screening and Monitoring Committee, headed by a former Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan (UI), Prof. Olufemi Bamiro.
While the NRFS&MC is chaired by Prof. Abubakar Kundiri, TAG has Prof. Charles Aworh as its Chairman with a mandate to screen proposals on manuscripts for development into academic textbooks and advise TETFund on fundable manuscripts, among other things.
While urging members of the committees inaugurated to adhere strictly to merit, the TETFund boss warned against compromise in the selection process.
He stressed that any member found wanting would be deleted from the committee.
Bogoro recalled that the agency had, from 2012 to 2019, awarded ?6,708,367,736.25 grants to 240 researchers, which he said was almost the amount for 2020 alone.
He said: “From 2012 to 2019, a total of 240 research grants have been awarded at a total cost of ?6,708,367,736.25.
“Also in 2020, key development in the NRF grant administration was the introduction of an Electronic Document Management System (EDMS) to automate the hitherto manual processes associated with receiving and processing of Concept Notes and Research Proposals.
“This was done with a view to entrenching and sustaining the culture of efficiency and effectiveness in the process of awarding the NRF grant and in line with global best practices.
“The 2020 NRF Grant Cycle was concluded in January 2021 with a total of 217 research proposals recommended for grant award at a total cost of ?6,396,159,060.00.”
Bogoro added that the TETFund National Research Fund intervention line was introduced in 2009 as a Special Intervention Programme (SIP) with a seed grant of N3 billion for promoting the conduct of applied research and innovation by academics in public tertiary educational institutions and research institutes.
According to him, the seed grant was augmented with an additional ?1 billion in 2015, while TETFund’s Board of Trustees (BoT) set up the NRF Screening and Monitoring Committee (NRFS&MC) and charged it with the responsibility for implementing and administering the intervention.
He said: “Upon my reinstatement in 2019, we transformed the NRF into an annual intervention and enlarged the funding envelope to N5 billion. As at the 2020 iteration of the NRF Grant Cycle, we had increased the funding pot to ?7.5 billion.
“For 2021, we have made available N8.5 billion, indicating a clear progression and our determination to keep moving in the right direction. The 2020 NRF Grant Cycle Exercise has concluded in January 2021 with a total of 217 Research Proposals recommended for Grant Award at a total cost of ?6,396,159,060.00.”
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