Th e news making the rounds is that the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETfund) will no longer give research grant to any scholar that has started his programme one or more years back. Frankly, this will not help our quest for quality research in this country. Most of scientifi c researches take some years to be completed, and therefore need steady funding. At times a scholar has to go to the bank and borrow money, or sell some of his landed properties to continue with his work. I therefore feel it is proper for such scholars to be assisted even if they are at their fi nal stage of their work. From what I gathered, there is enough money stashed in the TETfund account.
If that is true, I do not see any reason why scholars undergoing their MSc or PhD programme should not be assisted just because they have started their programme some years back. I do not see it as a waste, if a scholar is assisted to least, pay off the debt he incurred as a result of undergoing his research work. We need quality research in this country, and without proper funding, we will continue to produce low quality research. Th is is one of the reason Nigerian universities are not making it well in the world universities ranking. I, therefore, appeal to the executive secretary, of TETfund to consider his stand on funding MSc and PhD research programmes with a view to easing the suff ering of our scholars as well as to ensure good quality research in our universities. Inusa A.A. Kabo, Kaduna
