A professor of Physical and Computational Chemistry, Moriam Adeoye, on Thursday urged the Federal Government to include private universities in the research grant of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).
Speaking at the 6th inaugural lecture of Fountain University, Osogbo, on the topic “Physical Chemistry: winnowing Deep Truths From profound, Beautiful Nonsense” Adeoye held that inclusion of private schools to access the grant will boost national research output adding that it will also promote public-private collaboration.
She tasked the federal government to support policies that link academic research with industrial needs for practical impacts.
“The government should prioritise consistent investment in scientific research, especially in Physical Chemistry, which is vital for progress in energy, health, environment, and materials science.
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“In achieving this, the government should steer away from having to recognise only the government institutions and include all accredited private universities in TETFund research grants to boost national research output, promote public-private collaboration, ensure fairness, and stimulate innovation and commercialisation.”
Earlier, the Vice Chancellor of the institution, Professor Ramata Kareem, advocated for the need to encourage academic research with industrial innovation for the greater good of the country by the federal government.