From John Adams, Minna
The Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology (FUT), Minna, Prof Abdullahi Bala, has said that the Tertiary Eduction Trust Fund (TETFUND) has Transformed from an interventionist agency to become the life wire of Nigeria Universities.
The vice-chancellor said the agency has now assumed the responsibility of funding capital projects in Nigerian universities, wondering what would have been the faith of the universities in the country without the agency intervention.
Prof Bala spoke in Minna on Monday at the commissioning of eight TETFUND capital projects executed in the university in the last four years as part of activities marking the 30th Convocation and 38th anniversary of the establishment of the university.
According to him, ‘TETFUND was initially meant to be an interventionist agency but today the agency is doing more in the area of funding of capital projects in our universities, both federal and state.
‘TETFUND has become a critical agency in the funding of Nigerian universities and through the agency, we have been able to provide a number of projects in our university, some of which we are commissioning today,’ he said.
The vice-chancellor disclosed that in the last four years under his administration, TETFUND has expended well over N3 billion in executing various capital projects, adding that the agency provides an average of N500 million as an intervention fund to universities across the country annually.
On whether or not TETFUND should extend some level of funding to the private universities in the country, Prof Bala has this to say, ‘it is a matter of policy but will the private universities stop collecting tuition fees. Federal universities don’t charge tuition fees.’
No fewer than eight capital projects across eight schools in the university, funded by the TETFUND were inaugurated by Members of the Joint National Assembly committee on education as part of activities marking the 30th Convocation ceremony of the university.