ABUJA- The Tertiary Education Trust Fund, or TETFund, has spent a total of N185 billion on the education of 35,000 Nigerian students.
The scholars were taught by TETFund as part of its academic staff training program. They were selected from public tertiary institutions around the nation.
The TETFund scholars were trained both domestically and abroad, according to Alhaji Abdullahi Imam, acting director of academic staff training and development. He made this disclosure in Abuja during a courtesy visit by members of the TETFund scholars alumni steering committee to Arc. Sonny Echono, executive secretary of the fund.
The TETFund Scholarship for Academic Staff, according to Alhaji Imam, began in 2008 with the sole purpose of enhancing the educational capacity of the academic staff at beneficiary institutions. He also noted that the project ranks second in the Fund’s expenditure priorities after infrastructure projects.
“The training is both domestic and international, enabling them to perform cutting-edge research and access cutting-edge research facilities, quality teaching and learning, and international networking.
He emphasized that the alumni will contribute to preventing or reducing intellectual flight through its planned periodicals on topics including innovation and entrepreneurship, science, engineering, and technology, art, humanities, and social science.
One of the scholars, Prof. Kinsley Nwozor, explained the purpose of their visit by saying that they were at TETFund to express their gratitude for supporting them throughout the course of their studies. She continued by saying that even though some of them were tempted to stay back after completing their education, they have chosen to return to the country in order to demonstrate their mettle and demonstrate to the world that the dream of TETFund was a well-thought-out intention.
In Nigeria, there is no national organization that has carried out what TETfund is doing. A N185 billion investment is not chump change. It’s time to consider creative approaches to differentiating TETfund.
With the massive infrastructure in universities, you have accomplished a lot. We also think that huge buildings don’t necessarily produce huge universities, but rather huge minds.
Everywhere we go, we represent TETfund, and with you by our side, there is nothing we cannot accomplish.
People have acquired knowledge and skills; now is the time to turn that knowledge into national riches. “Others are waiting for us to start teaching them skills, and we are always prepared,” he stated.
He said, “No one is funding us; it is completely voluntary. I traveled from Awka, and my colleagues came from all parts of the nation; we are not here to become TETFund parasites; rather, we are here to become a source of income for TETFund for the development of this nation.”
In response, the Executive Secretary pledged to assist the scholars wherever they required assistance, adding that the first step would be to create a database with a list of all the recipients and their areas of expertise.
“We wish to include scholars in our list of blessings. Only a vessel, you. You are a means by which we can accomplish our main goal of enhancing the standard of instruction and learning in higher education institutions as well as promoting research and bringing its results into contact with the lives of our people. This is done by translating research and innovations so that people can use them, make their lives better, and profit from them.
