Executive Secretary, Tertiary Education Trust Fund, TETFund, Arc Sonny Echono has alarmed over the under-utilisation of research intervention, saying that, Nigeria is yet to benefit significantly from the desired impact of research intervention line.
Echono disclosed this at a one day meeting with Heads of beneficiary Institutions in Abuja, yesterday.
He said this would necessitate the Fund considering new pathways to achieving greater impact on its various Research and Development interventions.
“Another area of concern to the TETFund is the Research intervention lines. From available data, the nation is yet to benefit significantly from the desired impact of this intervention line.
” We shall therefore be considering new pathways to achieving greater impact on our various R & D interventions,” he said.
He also disclosed that Fund was reviewing processes for enhanced and better services delivery to its beneficiary Institutions.
TETFund, according to Echono, is
re-working its 2007 edition of Guidelines for Disbursement and will make it available to beneficiary Institutions, when competed.
Echono said the Fund was, for the first time, adopting the bottom-up approach to the budgeting process for the Year 2023 intervention cycle, appealing to beneficiaries and institutions that execute the intervention lines, to make inputs and suggestions for better delivery of the intervention budget.
He said as an intervention agency, TETFund has remained consistent in its drive and strive for excellence, employing practical ways and solutions towards repositioning and revitalising the nation’s tertiary education system for the future generations.
“We are improving global competitiveness and visibility through our Capacity Building Programmes at various levels and different areas of national interest We are forging partnerships both locally and internationally for better access to quality resources and services.
“These partnerships have yielded some level of benefits for our TETFund Scholarship for Academic Staff intervention (TSAS). We have signed MOU with some foreign institutions that offer free tuitions and other incentives to our scholars who qualify for such benefits. We are making efforts to expand these partnerships and MOU’s to other critical areas such as research and innovation, Agriculture, Engineering and ICT.
“The focus of the Year 2022 zonal intervention on improving and expanding our ICT capabilities is in recognition of the fact that the world has gone digital in practically all areas of human endeavors. We must therefore take deliberate steps to catch up with the rest of the world in the ICT space for needed national development,” said TETFund boss.
He, therefore, urged Head of institutions to focus discussions on promoting innovation, entrepreneurship and employability of graduates of Nigerian tertiary institutions, feedback on the TETFund Skill G intervention project from inception till date and a brief presentation by the Bureau of Public Procurement,BPP, on the procurement processes to facilitate speedy and seamless implementation of projects as chief accounting officers amongst others.
