By Felix Khanoba
No fewer than 108 lecturers at the the College of Education Akwanga, Nasarawa State, have been sponsored on various Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) programmes by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).
Minister of Environment, Muhammed Abdullahi, who disclosed this on Thursday, while commissioning three newly-completed TETFund projects at the college, revealed that 179 lecturers were also sponsored for master’s degree programmes in both foreign and local institutions.
While saying that both programmes gulped about N799,570,466.00, the Minister stated that 119 staff were also sponsored to attend conferences with the amount expended put at N150, 925,069:00.
Expressing the delight over the academic training programme, Abdullahi said TETFund has so committed a total sum N7, 879, 432,390 billion to intervention projects at the college.
He said the interventions were on infrastructure, academic staff development, content, among others.
The minister stated that the commissioning of three iconic projects sponsored by TETFund were a continuation of the fund’s intervention in the institution, adding that the three projects were executed at the total sum of N954,804,436.14.
“These projects are: Home Economics Department Complex -N348,466,368.97; Undergraduates Programmes Complex,-N174,759,172.87; School of Education Complex -N434,578,894.30; total sum—N954,804,436.14,” he said
He noted that President Muhammadu Buhari’s committment to education has been undaunted as observed in his recent upward review of the 2 per cent education tax to 3 per cent, adding that the commissioning of the projects will further enhance teaching and learning in the institution.
Abdullahi expressed Federal Government’s commitment to continuous provision of needed infrastructure for the enhance teaching and learning in the country’s tertiary institutions.
Also speaking, the Nasarawa State Commissioner of Education, Hajiya Fatu Jimaita, said TETFund, through its interventions, has played a remarkable role in the provision of quality education in the country.
While describing the Fund as the fulcrum of educational development in Nigeria, Jimaita thanked TETFund for the projects and expressed hope that the iconic structures will not only be put to good use but also protected.
On his part, the Provost of the College, Rev. Jonathan Thani, noted the impact of TETFund on all aspects of the college, including staff training, infrastructure, and facilities among others.
While thanking the fund for its projects, Thani called for more interventions from TETFund, lamenting that the college which has over 16,000 students does not have a befitting library, except the old one constructed since 1973.
On his part, Executive Secretary of TETFund, Arc Sonny Echono, said the current administration has invested heavily on infrastructure in its over seven years of existence to aid teaching and learning in Nigeria’s tertiary institutions.
Represented by the Director of Monitoring and Evaluation at TETFund, Arc Babatunde Olajide, the TETFund boss said the fund’s interventions across tertiary institutions were carried out in line with enabling laws.
Echono noted that government’s commitment to the intervention was its attestation to fact that it desires to have the nation’s tertiary institutions well ranked globally.
While disclosing that the projects being commissioned were started in 2019 and completed in 2022 at the total cost of N1 billion, he charged the management of the institution to commit the buildings to good use and ensure maintenance of the structures for the advancement of learning in the college.
