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TETFund disburses N6.1bn for intervention projects in 198 institutions

By Kanayo Umeh, Abuja
07 December 2017   |   1:50 am
Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) has disclosed that a total of N6.1 billion was disbursed for various intervention projects in 198 institutions for the month of July 2017.

Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) has disclosed that a total of N6.1 billion was disbursed for various intervention projects in 198 institutions for the month of July 2017.

This was contained in the maiden edition of the agency’s monthly digest magazine, which was formally presented to the public recently in Abuja.Executive Secretary of the Fund, Dr. Abdullahi Bichi Baffa, explained that the publication contained all its intervention projects in universities; polytechnics and colleges of education in the country.

He added that the publication contains the agency multi-billion interventions cutting across research activities, infrastructural projects and scholarships among others.

“This publication contains activities of TETFund in every month of the year; research activities, monitoring of projects, approving of research grants and infrastructural projects. This is to take transparency to a higher level by publishing every projects and amount, we compile them and make them available to the public.”

Speaking at the event, the President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Prof Biodun Ogunyemi said the publication will allow the union to properly monitor all intervention projects in the universities to ensure expected outcome.

He, however decried the situation where TETFund has become the only source of major projects in tertiary institutions, stressing that ASUU would resist any move to include private institutions as beneficiaries of the Fund.

“TETFund has become the principal or sole pillar of support for all projects in our campuses; universities, polytechnics and colleges of education, and this calls for concerns because TETFund was set up to be an intervention agency.

It should not be the primary source of funding capital projects in tertiary institutions, and now pressures are being mounted to make it an all comers’ affair. Private institutions have begun to lobby arguing that we are all Nigerians and the agency should fund the institutions, including where they are charging fees.”

Highpoint of the event was the presentation of the TETFund monthly digest to guests which include representatives of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) as well as academic staff unions among others.

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