From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) has earmarked N6.3 billion for 217 research proposals as recommended by the National Research Fund (NRF) under the 2020 grant cycle exercise.
TETFund Executive Secretary, Suleiman Bogoro, made this known at the inauguration of the National Research Fund Screening and Monitoring Committee (NRFS&MC) and Technical Advisory Group (TAG) in Abuja.
He said the amount approved under the grant cycle that was concluded in January 2021 almost equalled the N6.7 billion disbursed for 240 research grants between 2012 to 2019.
“In 2020, a key development in the NRF grant administration was made. It was the introduction of an Electronic Document Management System (EDMS) to automate the hitherto manual processes associated with receiving and processing of concept notes and research proposals.
“This was done with a view to entrench and sustain the culture of efficiency and effectiveness in the process of awarding the NRF grant and in line with global best practices.
“The 2020 NRF grant cycle exercise was concluded in January 2021 with a total of 217 research proposals recommended for grant award at a total cost of N6.3 billion,” he said.
TETFund Board of Trustees (BoT) Chairman, Kashim Ibrahim-Imam, commended Bogoro for his passion on research and development (R&D), insisting no country in the world has developed without prioritising R&D.
He assured the BoT would continue to focus strategic attention on R&D as well as other areas to usher in the desired development in the country.
He said apart from the various infrastructure developmental projects being executed by the agency, N30 billion would be spent on training of academic staff in 2021.
“This is our 10th anniversary and TETFund has impacted most positively in every aspects of the development of tertiary education in Nigeria.”
Responding on behalf of the newly inaugurated NRFS&MC, its chairman, Abubakar Kundiri, promised members would give their best to achieve the assigned tasks.
He also vowed that no stone would be left unturned to effectively strengthen the monitoring of TETFund’s research grants.