It appears the pressure being mounted by proprietors of private universities in Nigeria for research funding may have yielded fruits as Suleiman Elias Bogoro, executive secretary, the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), has announced an amendment to process to accommodate private universities for research purposes in the N7.5 billion research grants recently approved to it by the Federal Government.
It would be recalled that over the years, owners of the 97 National Universities Commission (NUC) approved private universities have clamoured to be included in some measure of funding from TETfund.
Bogoro disclosed this while speaking at the inauguration of an Implementation Committee on the collaboration between the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology and TETFund in Abuja.
In a statement made available to newsmen, Ngoba Briggs, TETFund spokesperson stated that the National Research Fund (NRF) Grant, which has been increased to N7.5 billion in 2020 from the N5 billion approved in 2019, will include non-state entities and also invite private research institutes and educational institutions for research purposes.
This came as the Ministry of Science and Technology said it had begun collaboration with TETFund to ensure the country’s economy was driven by research and development.
According to the statement, “Bogoro commended the permanent secretary for his cooperation, describing the inauguration of the Implementation Committee as a paradigm shift between the Ministry and TETFund and reiterated the commitment of TETFund in collaborating with relevant agencies in making research a veritable instrument in national development”.
The executive secretary further lauded the efforts of Ogbonnaya Onu, minister of science and technology towards the collaboration and expressed appreciation for his commitment and support.
“The 10-man committee which comprises officials from both the ministry and TETFund were inaugurated as a fellow-up to a Memorandum of Understanding signed between both parties in January 2020 to boost Research and Development (R&D) for the technological and overall economic development of the country.
Mohammed Umar, permanent secretary, speaking during the inauguration, commended Bogoro and his team for their support and commitment to the collaboration.
Umar stated that the partnership between the Ministry and TETFund is geared towards driving the Nigerian economy through Science and Technology with adequate funding because no country in the world could thrive without Science and Technology.
The Permanent Secretary lamented that Nigeria used to be ahead of several countries ‘ such as India and South Korea in terms of technology, but that most of them have overtaken the country.
He therefore, expressed confidence that the collaboration would foster the relationship between TETFund and research institutes to help accelerate the country’s technological and economic development.
