TETFund scrapping may stall infrastructure development – VC
IDRIS AHMED, Lokoja.
Professor Olayemi Akinwumi, Vice Chancellor of Federal University Lokoja (FUL), has strongly advised the Federal Government against scrapping the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).
He warned that such a move would lead to the collapse of Nigeria’s University andPpolytechnic education system, severely impacting infrastructure development in these institutions.
Prof. Akinwumi emphasized that TETFund is crucial for maintaining educational standards and infrastructure in Nigeria
The Vice Chancellor gave the advice on Thursday in his office when Leaders of the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Kogi State Council paid him a visit in his office at the Felele Campus of the University.
He expressed dismay that the proposed scrapping of TETFund due to envisaged zero allocation in the 2030 budget, if not reviewed, could spell doom for the infrastructure development of the nation’s tertiary institutions.
Prof.Akinwumi said many Universities today are like they are owned by TETFund, in view of the agency’s physical presence in the institutions adding that from 2021 to date, TETFund has been very helpful and responsible for many of the structures on the two campuses of FUL.
“Stoppage of TETfund, if allowed, will lead to collapse of the University and Polytechnic education system in Nigeria especially in the area of provision of the needed infrastructures”, he said.
Reviewing the development of the institution, the Vice Chancellor told the visiting journalists that the institution requires a lot of resources to meet its development needs, occasioned by the era of universities waiting for the government to accomplish all their needs before thinking of other critical sectors .
“We are facing a lot of challenges, because even the two big hostels built on “Build Operate and Transfer (BOT)” arrangement for students’ accommodation have remained uninhabited as a result of security challenges.” the VC lamented.
He disclosed that his administration embarked on aggressive internal revenue generation (IGR) to complement TETFund efforts at closing infrastructure gaps in the institution.
Earlier, Chairman of the Correspondents’ Chapel, Mr Segun Salami of Channel’s Television commended Prof. Akinwumi for his developmental strides and reiterated the need for more Media collaborations.
The Chairman urged the School management to always open it’s doors for constant interaction and effective partnership with the Chapel for adequate dissemination of information and publicity.
