The Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, has disclosed that the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) will cease funding for any non-performing centre of excellence it established eight years ago.
Mamman made this disclosure at the weekend during a reception of two ad hoc committee reports on the assessment of TETFund Centres of Excellence and the operationalization of Skills Development Special Interventions.
He however emphasized the government’s commitment to fostering high standards in academic research and development, stating, “We can’t be giving free money to institutions that are not doing what they are supposed to do.”
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“In terms of the skill, we want to raise the equipment level of those institutions, polytechnic and others so that they can provide all the skill set that we need in Nigeria in the highest quality that can service the country and internationally,” he said.
The Minister further highlighted the objective of raising equipment levels in educational institutions, particularly polytechnics, to enhance skill development that meets both national and international standards.
TETFund’s Executive Secretary, Arc Sonny Echono, criticized the inefficient use of funds by some centres, noting that unused allocations have yet to be accessed due to the centres’ failure to meet required milestones.
“The idea was to incubate, to have one centre, the right equipment, the right tools, the right faculty and experts, that would lead our efforts in research, in promoting scholarship at the highest level so that they can also inspire other centres,” Echono explained.
