At a time when tertiary education is the preoccupation of most development pundits in Nigeria, it is expected that the development trajectory of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND), the government agency with the core responsibility of harnessing infrastructural advancement in public higher institutions of learning, be accorded adequate attention. This article aims at highlighting the key intervention strategies of the incumbent dispensation at the fund against the backdrop of popular expectations.
For an agency that aspires to be a world-class interventionist institution, providing focused and transformative interventions in public tertiary educational institutions through funding and effective management should be the destination, and TETFUND should be awake in this direction. Agreeing that the quality of higher education is one of the tripods that Nigeria’s development is premised, the happenings at the funding agency should be of utmost public interest.
Since he assumed the responsibility of steering the affairs of TETFUND as Executive Secretary, Architect Sonny Echono has brought a measure of confidence and a sound sense of accountability in funds dispensation. With his robust background in public procurement, the erstwhile civil servant who rose to the pinnacle of service has restored the confidence of Nigerians in the funding agency with his innovations and up-to-date strategies. The new helmsman brought to the job a robust wealth of experience in infrastructural development, public procurement management and a drive towards information technology.
When the House of Representatives Committee on Tertiary Education and Services led by its chairman, Hon. Aminu Suleiman, paid an oversight visit to assess the extent of compliance at the Fund recently, it’s vintage Echono who outlined the operational outlook to the satisfaction of the lawmakers. The revered public servant gave a vivid outline of what he met on ground on taking office and challenged the committee of lawmakers to consider amending the TETFund Act so as to provide the needed atmosphere for smoother operations.
‘’This is a major area that we will be seeking the support of the National Assembly in terms of legislation. The other aspect is the fact that in this oversight, we also want to open our activities more to independent assessment and evaluation on our behalf.
“So, we have developed a monitoring and evaluation platform that will be involving key stakeholders like the National Assembly, even the staff unions in our tertiary institutions to join us to independently look at some of the things that we are doing,’’ Architect Echono had affirmed.
TETFUND’s revived monitoring and evaluation strategy is a clear indication that the management of the Fund under Echono is ready for public accountability and this is in justifying the confidence that President Buhari reposed in him. With this mechanism, Nigerians who pay the education tax would also know that their monies are being judiciously expended in the interest of the citizenry. This new era in TETFUND, no doubt, is one driven by conviction and it will maximally benefit tertiary education in Nigeria.
In a similar development, when the Senate Committee on Tertiary Education and TETFUND led by Senator Ahmed Baba Kaita came as part of a prerogative for oversight, it was all commendation for the glaring preparedness of the new dispensation at the agency. Describing the executive secretary as ‘’a performer,’’ the committee expressed the hope that he would replicate the same effort of transforming education sector he brought to bear while holding sway as permanent secretary at the Federal Ministry of Education.
Having restated his preparedness to steer the agency towards innovation, Echono had indicated fulfilling the core mandate of TETFUND viz-a-viz developing the physical infrastructure of institutions of higher learning on the one hand and developing the capacity of staff and employing the instrumentality of ICT to enhance curriculum development on the hand. With this commitment, the management of has much at hand to meet the popular projections of Nigerians.
During the first 100 days of this dispensation of pragmatism at TETFUND, there is an observable refocus on supporting research and development to make higher education more viable and less theory-driven. In this vein, the executive secretary has indicated that more funds would be earmarked for capacity development of teaching and non-teaching staff so as to equip them with the needed skills for entrepreneurial studies and research advancements in digital innovations to enhance the global competitiveness of Nigerian students and graduates thereby building a knowledge-based economy and improving Nigeria’s global presence in the long run.
‘’We have done so well in physical infrastructure, and we will continue to do that but we must also focus on those we entrust with evaluating our students. We must focus the type of curriculum that is being taught and the delivery systems,’’ the executive secretary declared in one of his inaugural addresses. It is encouraging to observe that the agency is progressing in this direction.
Another key area of TETFUND’s interventions that deserves emphasis is the partnerships being entered into with reputable institutions locally and internationally. This area has seen the University of Brazil in Vicosa, being partnered with for training of more Nigerian professionals in agriculture, transnational cooperation with the people and government of the UK, the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) and other such strategic partnerships.
The signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the University of Sussex for the development of tertiary education in Nigeria and partnership with the European Union for Researches and Innovation at Brussels are all commitments towards improving the quality of tertiary education in Nigeria.
In recognition of his leadership acumen, the TETFUND helmsman was recently bestowed with the much coveted Medal of Honour Award by FARA, a testimony that excellence is the new watchword at the Fund. This award is a recognition by the continental body and should further encourage the determination of Architect Echono to leave behind indelible footprints.
When the recent interventions of TETFUND are put in proper perspectives, it would be agreeable that the prospects of tertiary education in Nigeria would be efficiently harnessed under the new dispensation and the whole country would be better for it. The public should also keep the new management on its feet with requisite scrutiny.
Abonu, a public policy analyst and journalist, writes from Asokoro, Abuja.
