Wike expresses concern over tertiary institutions’ inability to access TETFund facilities

[FMINigeria]

The Supervising Minister of Education, Ezenwo Nyesom Wike has expressed concern over the inability of tertiary institutions in the country to access the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) intervention funds, stating from available records that as at end of June 2013, about N73.87 billion intervention funds to tertiary institutions was still in-accessed for one reason or the other.

The Minister, who disclosed this at a meeting with Pro-Chancellors and Vice-Chancellors of Federal and State Universities held on Tuesday 8th October, 2013 in Abuja noted that out of the amount indicated, N35 billion representing 47% is due to the Universities, N16 billion representing 21% is due to Polytechnics while N12 billion representing 16% is for the Colleges of Education.

He quested why institutions have to cry out about lack of adequate funding since the funds due to them have not been accessed. He also revealed that this administration has shown commitment to ensuring adequate funding for education as top priority. Adding, there has been consistent increase in the amount of money allocated to tertiary institutions apart from their budgetary appropriations.

"The High Impact fund of TETFund has in five phases disbursed over N109 billion to the Universities, Polytechnics and Colleges of Education to support their development as Centres of Excellence," he said.

The Minister expressed worry about the capacity of the institutions to manage the resources they have; noting from his belief that it is a clear lack of capacity that makes any institution an academic one for that matter unable to follow the simple guidelines on how to access and adequately utilize funds.

Nyesom Wike urged the institutions to ensure that their staffs involved in project implementation have the relevant competence in project management, saying they should prove that the value that they are giving back to the society is worth what the society is putting in them.

The Minister frowned at the attitude by which some managers of public tertiary institutions have abandoned the funding of their institutions to TETfund. He described this as an unwholesome phenomenon which has reduced impartation on development initiatives, stressing that TETfund only plays an intervention role.

"There is a perceived lack of care on the part of the proprietors of institutions in the area of funding, a situation whereby the occasional has become a routine. Regular funding seems to have been abandoned to TETfund intervention efforts. This is an aberration. It must stop, if we do not want the whole system to collapse," he emphasised.

In another development, the Minister constituted an 8-man committee to look into the challenges confronting tertiary institutions' access to TETFund intervention funds and to proffer practical solutions. The committee which is chaired by the Permanent Secretary in the Education Ministry, MacJohn Nwaobiala has one week to submit its report.

Source: Wike expresses concern over tertiary institutions' inability to access TETFund facilities
Federal Ministry of Information (FMI) Nigeria