• Thursday, March 28, 2024
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Tetfund annual allocation hits N208 billion in 2019

Tetfund annual allocation hits N208 billion in 2019

The Tertiary education Trust fund (TETfund) has announced that the total annual disbursement to Tertiary Institutions amounts to N208 billion in 2019.

Suleiman Bogoro, Executive Secretary, TETfund disclosed this in Abuja stressing that head of institutions should ensure optimum use of each fund to ensure the agency remain one of the most effective intervention agency in Nigeria.

Bogoro, giving a breakdown of the fund at the meeting with heads of public Tertiary Institutions on Thursday, said that the sum of N826 million will be disbursed to each public university, while public polytechnics and colleges of education would receive N566 million and N542 million each.

He said “With these funds we must ensure that we deliver on the expectations of the government and the Nigerians. We must justify the wisdom of ASUU to create a non-budgetary funding window for our public Tertiary Institutions”.

“On our own part, we have strived to ensure that our beneficiary institutions who are recipients of the education tax utilise them judiciously through our constant monitoring of projects and program approved for them by the board of trustees”

Bogoro said that the fund administration has ensured institutionalization of research and development, review of existing guidelines for content based interventions, investigate verification, science engineering and technology training program, micro teaching laboratory, construction and furnishing, monitoring exercise, among others as part of its internal restructuring program.

He said “The fund administration of recent has undergone some internal restructuring and realignment for better and efficient service delivery, these restructuring includes institutionalization of research and development, review of existing guidelines for content based interventions, investigate verification, science engineering and technology training program”.

” Others include; Restructuring of the Micro teaching laboratory, construction and furnishing, monitoring exercise, efforts to reinstate stranded scholars abroad, monitoring conference attendance, functionality and sustainability of academic publishing centers, compliance with the due process as stated in the TETfund act as well ensuring strict penalty for delay in projects and poor quality in projects construction”.

Bogoro speaking further, lamented the undue interferance by state governments in state owned universities projects adding that most state government has established more universities so as to access more funds for other use.

Acting Chairman, Board of Trustees, TETfund, Abubaka Rasheed, in his remark said that TETfund has in over the years emerged as the most important government intervention agency as it has ensured it has ensure effective administration.

He said “TETfund over the years has introduced several initiatives to enhance the standard of education in Nigeria tertiary institutions”.

Rasheed speaking further said that there is need to protect the annual fund to ensure that the intervention is seen and appreciated as more universities are emerging thereby reducing the impact of the fund.

“As head of institutions, we need to promote more efficient administration of the funds allocated to each institution, I urge everyone to process these funds and shun every corrupt practice in the use of the funds”, he said.

“This year, we have more institutions benefitting from the fund, hence the impact may not be felt, if it is not judiciously used”.

 

Cynthia Egboboh, Abuja