TETFund’s Role in Nigeria’s Education Sector Commendable, Says Okowa

Omon-Julius Onabu

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State has commended the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) for its positive impact on the growth and development of tertiary education in Nigeria.

Receiving members of the House of Representatives Committee on Tertiary Education and Services, led by its Chairman, Hon. Aminu Suleiman, at the Government House, Asaba, the governor described as outstanding the contributions of TETFund to the funding of research and infrastructure development in its mandate area.

He however said a lot more could be achieved especially in the area of research funding in higher institutions across the country.

“As it stands in this country, the more the National Assembly actually goes out on oversight functions, the more likely we are going to have better institutions. There is no doubt that through various laws passed by our nation and the act establishing the TETFund, a lot has been done in tertiary institutions.

“However, I still think that generally as a country, we must begin to look very closely into the funding and research of the tertiary institutions more than we are doing at the moment.

“This will help in the development of the mind and the higher institutions, and will also help to bring us to compete with other universities of the world.”

On his administration’s entrepreneurial programmes, Okowa said ”until we began to grow youth entrepreneurs in various aspects such as skills acquisition and agricultural entrepreneurship programmes, we may not be able to sustain the peace being built at the moment.

“The more youths we are meaningfully able to take out of poverty, the better for us. So our type of programme is not just a youth empowerment programme, it’s an entrepreneurial programme.

“We train them for both skills and mind; we empower them and monitor them very closely. We have had a reasonable success story, say about 70 per cent at the moment; many of them are now standing on their own and even training others.”

In the education sector, the governor also noted that Deltans love to further their education into higher institutions which informed the upgrade of three higher institutions in the state to universities.

“I am glad that you have talked about Federal University of Technology, Asaba. I think that with the facilities at the Federal College of Education (Technical), Asaba, the federal government would not be spending more to get the university running. It’s just a question of upgrading the Federal College of Education (Technical), Asaba. They have enough structures and a good number of lecturers also.”

In his remarks, Suleiman explained that his team was in Delta in continuation of its oversight function, as performing oversight on the state of higher institutions is a cardinal responsibility of the legislature so as to encourate enhanced performance and accountability in the institutions.