TETFund to Construct Hostels in 36 Campuses

Kuni Tyessi in Abuja

The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) yesterday announced that it had concluded plans to initiate hostel construction projects on 36 campuses across the country this year.

Executive secretary of TETFund, Sonny Echono, who disclosed this when the leadership of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) paid him a courtesy visit in Abuja o, said the initiative is aimed at addressing the pressing issue of student accommodation in the country.

Echono also noted that the Fund is working on providing free internet for students in both public and private tertiary institutions across the country.

He appreciated NANS for the level of support and maturity they have shown in advancing the interest of Nigerian students through constructive engagements.

He added that while there are misconceptions that the focus of TETfund is on schools, infrastructure and lecturers, the students are the real focus.

“I want to assure you that we will continue to support NANS, we will partner with NANS because there is no doubt that any policy or project that you want to do in the education sector, students must be at the centre of it.

“I can tell you that Mr. President, immediately I assumed office last year, also gave us a charge that we should begin to focus also on the students in not just words but in deed and I’m going to speak on only two specific programmes that we are starting this year to demonstrate that.

“The first is the physical infrastructure side. As I speak, this year, we shall be providing hostels for students in 36 tertiary institutions across the country because we realise that part of the places where our students live are so deplorable and only about 15 percent of our students are staying on campus,” he said.

Echono who lamented that many of the students are outside the campus, stated that the Fund will work to ensure that 50 to 60 percent of the students are provided with well-built hostels to stay in.

“Many of them are living outside campus, climbing okada many times during the rain. Some of them can’t even come back for evening lectures because when you look at the cost and the trouble of walking all the way and coming back, then you don’t know about the security situation in the areas where they are forced to live.

“So, we have a programme and policy to ensure that as much as possible we will put a minimum of 50-60 per cent of our students to live on the campuses and provide those hostels and those hostels will not be all those matchboxes and shanties, they will be solid buildings that can even attract students of anywhere in the world,” he said.

He added that the directors of ICT and librarians have all been trained and sensitised to on-board students on platforms once they are admitted.

On the NANS request for the construction of a Students National Secretariat, Echono said he will meet with the minister and other critical stakeholders to consider their request.

“The initial impression we had was the NANS secretariat moves every two years from campus to campus and that is why it was felt that you will not need a national Secretariat but from what you have said , the frequency of your visit to Abuja for engagements.

“I think it makes a lot of sense particularly, they have allocated a land for you that NANS should be able to have its secretariat. I will have a conversation with the minister to see how we can bring things about without over taxing parents,” he added.

He also promised that the Fund will work towards incorporating the students in the monitoring of TETFund projects as requested by NANS.

“We will work out those modalities. I want to assure you, we have already started with the lecturers and other unions, we are doing joint monitoring with them. So, we will also incorporate NANS so that as beneficiaries of these interventions you should be able to tell us what’s happening,” he said.

Earlier, the president of NANS,  Lucky Emonefe assured the Fund of the support of Nigerian students as it strives to ensure that education infrastructure is in place to compete with other nations.