The TETFund is targeting N500 billion budget in 2022 in order to increase our interventions – BOT chairman
By Madu Mohammed, Maiduguri
The Chairman Board of Trustee, Tertiary Education Trust Fund ( TETFund), Alhaji Kashim Imam has said that in order to increase it’s interventions in critical infrastructures, research and other interventions in tertiary education across the nation, the Fund is targeting N500 billion budget for the 2022 and also improve the ranking of Nigerian universities in global rating.
The chairman who disclosed this in an interview with journalists during an inspection visit to completed and ongoing projects in tertiary institutions in Borno and Yobe state yesterday said ” last year we budgeted N250, billion this year N300 billion and we are targeting N500 billion in order to increase funding to tertiary institutions in our efforts to provide more interventions to critical infrastructures, research and training, energizing the campus, library interventions, hostels among others to our tertiary institutions and improve the rating of our universities in global ranking, as such we have contract a firm to work with Federal Inland Revenue (FIRS)’ to meet our target
” in the Borno state University last year we allocated N800 million as direct grant N800 million, this N3 billion high impact grant , while this year N900 million, if you add in all is about N5 billion. In University of Maiduguri last year direct grant N800 million, this N900 million, N2.6 billion last 2 years for the fencing of the University against Boko Haram attack, Also N750 million special grant for establishment of kidney center totaling about N5 billion. Our interventions in the state in all University of Maiduguri, Ramat polytechnic, colleges of Education, Waka Biu and Bama, as well as sir Kashim Ibrahim College of education is in the margin N16 to N17 billion”, he added.
While at the Government House, Maiduguri, Alhaji Imam said ” the fund are making interventions in 4 cardinal areas, which include infrastructural development, Training and research, Energizing the campuses, E library interventions. . E library we providing necessary infrastructures to facilitate E learning in tertiary institutions, in University of Abuja we are 30 kilometers of fibre optics cable and will be replicated in 24 Universities. 200 bed space in 25 Universities,. Energizing the campus we are also providing solar projects in 24 universities”, Imam added.
Responding, the Borno state Governor, Prof. babagana Zulum said there was gap between the Industries and the institution’s, and between the graduates and the industries and I am urging the TETFund not only to intervene in structures but skillss and entrepreneurship, ICT technological developments for instructions to provide job creators rather than job seekers”.
” I want to use the opportunity to appeal to the TETfund to assist the Borno state University in establishing the faculty of environmental studies and Agriculture,which is critical to our developmental efforts” he added.
At the University of Maiduguri, Alhaji Imam said as an alumni of the university the wishes of the university is granted, adding the TETFund is going to construct 2,000 bed space student hostels build operate and transfer, through partnership with private sector and the university and that the sum of N800 million has been allocated to the University as direct grant intervention last year, N905 million direct grant this year. N2.6 billion for the fencing of the university and N750 million as special projects for the establishment of Kidney centre.
Earlier, the Vice challencilor University of Maiduguri, Prof Aliyu. Shugaba said ” the TETFund has been a life line to tertiary institutions in Nigeria through the provision of critical infrastructures, library, research and training, and entrepreneurship development. 70 percent of structures at the University of Maiduguri were provided by the TETFund including this Senate building that we are seated now.
During the inspection visits, the chairman was also at the Ramat polytechnic, Borno state University, Kashim Ibrahim and Umar Elkanemi colleges of education where he interacted with the Management’s of the institutions in order to know how the Fund is impacting on their institution and other areas of their needs.