Tag: TETFUND

The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) has inaugurated 12 new structures worth over N4.5 billion in Gombe State University (GSU) and Federal College of Education, Gombe.

The structures included the faculty of pharmaceutical sciences, faculty of education, faculty of arts, social and management sciences, faculty of law, 250 capacity drama theatre, university clinic and female hostels III and IV among others.

The Executive Secretary of TETFUND Sonny Echono, said Gombe State University, which was established in 2004, was enlisted as a beneficiary of TETFund’s interventions in 2006.

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According to him, from 2006 to this year, the university allocated N15 billion for various interventions.

He lauded the university management for the judicious utilisation of the resources in the provision of requisite facilities, which are prominent structural features on the campus.

“No doubt, projects undertaken with these funds have remarkably impacted on the mandate of the university in facilitating teaching, learning and research.

“I, therefore, wish to commend the management of the university for assiduously monitoring and ensuring the successful delivery of the various intervention projects executed from inception, some of which we are assembled here to commission today.

“The projects to be inaugurated today are 11, and are those of the Special High Impact intervention, Special, Annual and Zonal interventions for which funds were allocated between 2014 and 2021, and completions successfully achieved between 2021 and 2023. The total cost of these projects amount to N4,591,813,389.70, all delivered successfully in line with the TETFund guidelines,” he said.

Earlier, the executive secretary had inaugurated four new projects at the Federal College of Education, Gombe.

They include the early grade reading resource centre, early childhood care education complex, female hostel block and 4,390-capacity lecture hall.

The university’s Vice Chancellor, Professor Aliyu Usman El-nafaty, expressed appreciation to TETFUND for its various interventions in the institution, saying they have contributed to the latter’s growth.

Governor Inuwa Yahaya, who inaugurated the projects alongside the Minister of Transportation, Sa’idu Alkali and other top federal and state governments functionaries, lauded TETFUND for disbursing funds to build structures for the ‘baby institution’ and the school’s management for the good use of the money.

Yahaya stated plans to establish another campus for the faculty of environmental sciences of the university in Dukku Local Government to expand the institution and its programmes.

The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) has said it has proposed an increase in the rates of living expenses to its scholars in Malaysia, India, among others, as a result of decline in the value of naira.

TETFund said the already incurred shortfalls in living expenses of the scholars are also being computed for payment.

Its Acting Director of Public Affairs, Abdulmumin Oniyangi, assured the scholars that there was no cause for alarm.

The statement reads: “The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) wishes to address recent concerns raised by some stakeholders over the plight of some Nigerian lecturers studying in foreign institutions under the TETFund Scholarship for Academic Staff (TSAS) programme, who are requesting for bailout by the fund to cater for shortfalls in their living expenses occasioned by fluctuations in Foreign Exchange.

“The fund specifically notes appeals from scholars in Malaysia, India and Kenya. Some of whom have written to the Minister of Education and the fund, requesting for intervention to enable them complete their studies in their respective institutions.

“It is instructive to note that upon the introduction of the TSAS programme in 2008, full tuition and living expenses of scholars were disbursed directly by TETFund to their employers i.e. the fund’s beneficiary institutions, who were expected as part of TETFund guidelines to warehouse approved training cost in respect of foreign scholarship in domiciliary accounts; and then disburse tuition to approved foreign institutions of study and living expenses into scholars’ foreign accounts upon receipt of progress report on academic standing.

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“However, due to complaints by numerous scholars and certain observations on non-compliance to stipulated guidelines by beneficiary institutions, the mode of disbursement was reviewed in August 2019. With the review, TETFund commenced direct payment of tuition to foreign training institutions to mitigate the issue of exchange rate fluctuations, while disbursement of living expenses was still made to beneficiary institutions for retention in domiciliary accounts before transfer to scholars, as a way of protecting the scholarship bond signed with their employers. Based on the foregoing, TETFund has been up-to-date in tuition payment to the training institutions of all affected scholars and indeed other institutions where TETFund scholars undergo various programmes.

“It is pertinent to state that despite the requirement of operating domiciliary accounts for living expenses of foreign scholars, some Beneficiary Institutions still kept such funds in local currency. Consequently, due to non-compliance to this requirement, scholars are often cut up on volatility of foreign exchange arising from the practice of keeping their stipends in local currency.”

To address this anomaly, TETFund with effect from 2022, commenced payment of living expenses directly to scholars after the first year until the end of the programme, with the burden of exchange rate variation borne by the Fund.

• N146b spent on 10,227 scholars

The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) has inaugurated an ad-hoc committee on the establishment of central multipurpose laboratories in selected universities in the country.

Executive Secretary, TETFund, Sonny Echono, while inaugurating the committee in Abuja, said the move was part of efforts to provide relevant infrastructure to aid research in the country.

He said it was universally accepted that innovative research and its commercialisation was clearly the driver of economic growth and prosperity in the contemporary world.

He added that the “Academic Staff Training and Development Intervention Programme had enabled the fund to sponsor over 10,227 academic staff for foreign Masters and PhD programmes at the cost of over N146 billion, out of which 1,017 were sponsored for bench work at the cost of over N5 billion.”

He said: “However, upon return of the scholars to their various institutions, many were unable to share the knowledge acquired and replicate their experiences due largely to the research infrastructure deficit in their institutions.”

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The TETFund boss added: “It is imperative to make conscious efforts to not only develop our human capital but to also provide research infrastructure to support innovative research and development on a sustainable basis.

“It is indeed a key pre-requisite for accelerated national development and global competitiveness.”

Echono also said the agency was deploying billions of naira to fund research programmes and projects with a view to deepening the institutionalisation of research and development to tackle national challenges.

Echono said: “You will recall that the fund has so far awarded 727 research grants to researchers from public tertiary institutions at the cost of over N18 billion under the National Research Fund (NRF) to undertake applied research in various academic disciplines.

“It was observed that some of these scholars who have benefited from the NRF grants have often requested that, to complete the execution of the research projects may require them to cross international borders.

“This is in a view to access certain facilities/equipment due to lack of requisite research facilities in their institutions.

“In some cases, these tend to affect the financial burden associated with the research projects, coupled with time expended for travelling.”

Echono said the committee has former Vice Chancellor of University of Ibadan, Emeritus Professor Olufemi Bamiro, as chairperson, and had been given one month to submit its report.

In his acceptance speech, Bamiro, who lauded Echono for setting up the committee, expressed the readiness of the team to deliver on the assigned task.

“This will surely go a long way in rejuvenating research and training in research in our nation state,” he said.

Other members of the committee are Prof. Ekanem Braide, Prof. Joseph Ahaneku, Prof. Suleiman Mustapha, Prof. Yusuf Saidu, Prof. Nasir Fagge, Prof. Abubakar Sambo, Prof. Ibrahim Katampe and Mallam Buhari Mikailu.

The Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Sonny Echono, yesterday urged the fund’s Desk Officers in various tertiary institutions to familiarise themselves with the new upgraded guidelines of the programmes for transparency and effectiveness in accessing TETFund.

Echono, who stated this in his welcome address at the opening of a two-day TETFUND Desk Officers workshop with the theme: “Improving TETFund Intervention Programmes and Processes in Tertiary Institutions ” in Gombe, said the significance of the workshop is to discuss some of the issues affecting desk officers institutions and TETFUND intervention lines.

 “This workshop is being organised to familiarise heads of our institutions and TETFund desk officers with the fund’s operations, standards and benchmarks which will enable you to attain transparency and effectiveness in accessing TETFund interventions.

“It is my sincere hope that at the end of the workshop the various Heads of our public tertiary institutions and desk officers will be equipped with the knowledge of the relevant guidelines, procedures, and processes of the fund. It is also hoped that the heads of the institutions and desk officers will appreciate the objectives of this workshop,” he said.

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According to him, the workshop is expected to bridge the gaps that exist between the fund and beneficiary institutions regarding the procedures and processes with regards to all the intervention lines.

He said TETFund has noted the frequent change in the appointment of heads of institutions and desks officers across institutions in the country and also noted that these newly appointed officers find it difficult to understand the responsibility of interfacing with the fund on the various intervention programmes and the needs of their institutions.

“This, we believe, shall be addressed by this workshop. Again, every now and then new institutions are enlisted as beneficiaries of the fund and, therefore, need to be informed and educated on the fund’s operations, procedures, and mandate. The fund’s guidelines have recently been updated and shall be made available to you soonest.

 “I want to take this opportunity once again to remind you of the significance of this workshop and urge you to utilise this platform to discuss some of the issues affecting your institutions and our intervention lines. Your ideas, suggestions and contributions on how best you think we can improve our intervention lines remain valuable and significant to our operations,” he said.

Echono said the choice of the theme, “Improving TETFund Intervention Programmes and processes in beneficiary Institutions”, was deliberate so that desk officers of public institutions can be fully equipped and knowledgeable about TETFund guidelines and mandate.