The Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, Sunday Echono, has revealed plans to disburse N18 billion to six public universities under its Special High Impact Intervention.
Speaking during a press briefing on Thursday, he disclosed that N3 billion will be given to six selected varsities, N1 billion each to six polytechnics and six colleges of education across the country.
He added that over 95 per cent of the 2023 Intervention Budget N320 billion total TETFund’s disbursement of 2023 would go directly to beneficiary tertiary institutions.
Echono said the remaining five per cent of the allocation would be used for staff salaries and allowances, project monitoring and zonal capital projects.
The PUNCH reports that Special Intervention funds are to directly fund selected tertiary institutions to upgrade their programmes and improve their teaching and learning environments.
As stipulated by the enabling Act, allocations are generally made equitably based on the age of the institution per geopolitical zone in Nigeria and are decided by the Board of Trustees at its discretion.
He said, “For this year, the special impact will be given to six universities which include; Ibrahim Babangida University Lapai from the North Central zone, Federal University Wukali in Taraba State from the North-East zone, Federal University Birnin Kebbi from the North-West. In the South-East, Imo State university of Agriculture and environmental sciences will receive funding while in the South-South we have Edo state university and South-West we have the Federal University of Technology Akure, Ondo State.
“The beneficiary polytechnics are; “Federal Polytechnics Offa, Federal Polytechnic Gombe, Federal Polytechnic Kabo, Kano State, Anambra State Polytechnic, Federal Polytechnic of Oil and Gas, Bonny and Oyo State College of Agriculture and Technology, Igboora are to get N1billion each.
“Also, Colleges Of Education are Plateau StateCOE, Federal COE, Yola, Federal COE, Zaria, Enugu State COE, Delta State COE and Tai Solarin COE are to get N1 billion each.”
Speaking further, the secretary said the funds plan to intervene in the dilapidated state of some institutions’ student hostels.
“Many of you have seen the deplorable accommodation our students live in. For some years now we have commenced these interventions and we will encourage schools because we believe the hostels are one of the areas where private sector funding can be attracted.
“Last year we released intervention in 20 institutions and the hostels have been completed. Another 20 institutions are ready this year, which is one of the importance of the special impact project,” he stated.
The TETfund executive secretary further said the fund was aware of the challenges facing institutions, especially the issue of people targeting academic centres, kidnapping children and disrupting academic activities.
“So we are implementing strategies to enhance security in institutions.
Speaking on other intervention lines, Echono said that N6 billion had been allocated to institutions in security-prone areas, especially those institutions with internal security challenges as well as institutions with cases of adoptions.
He said that there was a need to implement projects in institutions within security-prone areas to enhance the security of the students and teachers.
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