The Federal Government has unveiled a technological platform, Tertiary Education Research, Applications and Services, TERAS, to offer centralised services to students and staff of the country’s higher institutions.
Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, who unveiled the platform in Abuja, on Tuesday, said his ministry will ensure the platform grows and benefits millions of students and academic staff.
Mamman described the launch of TERAS as a significant milestone in the present administration’s quest to transform the nation’s tertiary education sector.
“What I witnessed when I was admitted to the TERAS platform is truly impressive. The technology underpinning TERAS is a testament to the careful expertise in its design and implementation.
“The Ministry will continue to provide our beneficiary institutions and TETFund with unwavering support to fully realize the potential of TERAS, as a key component of our resolve in repositioning, strengthening and rekindling hope in our tertiary education sector,” he said.
The minister said government is aware of the challenges that the education system faces today, while stressing the determination of the present administration to tackle those challenges.
“Education is an investment in the future for our children and the destiny of our nation. Issues stemming from the past, including the disruptions caused by COVID-19, as well as ongoing funding challenges in our sector, continue to weigh heavily on our minds.
“To the dedicated staff and staffs in our tertiary institutions, please be rest assured that I am fully cognizant of your concerns, and we are committed to addressing them head-on.
“We are taking decisive steps to tackle them. It is for this very reason that I have seen and heard, TERAS represents remarkable progress for all of us. The countless benefits that TERAS promises to bring to educators, students, and the entire educational community are awe-inspiring and must be fully exploited, ” he said.
Also speaking, the Executive Secretary of Tertiary Education Trust Fund, TETFund, Arc. Sonny Echono, said the unveiling of the platform marked a significant moment in the history of Nigerian tertiary education.
Echono said TERAS was envisioned by TETFund as the centralized hub for tertiary education services, fostering quality assurance, collaboration, efficiency and innovation.
“TERAS has its origins in the challenging days of the COVID-19 pandemic, a period when our nation and our education system ground to a halt. The impact was profound, but it also served as a catalyst for action.
“Government, recognizing the need to mitigate disruptions in education, swiftly set in motion a series of policies and directives through the Federal Ministry of Education. These initial steps have now culminated in the creation of TERAS, the groundbreaking platform we present today.”
Echono said “TERAS has been meticulously designed to seamlessly integrate various essential components. First is identity management through BIMS (Beneficiary Identity Management System), followed by a federated academic repository to address critical challenges faced by students, researchers; and institutions in accessing educational resources and research materials.
“Other services such as, sponsored Mobile Internet Access, EagleScan for plagiarism checking. Aggregated Journal & Research Subscription inclusive of EBSCO, Blackboard Learning Management System, Digital Literacy (ICDL and Communication Skills), and Intervention Funding are available to our institutions, staff, and students.”
He said the agency aimed at growing the over 2 million students and staff of beneficiary institutions currently captured on BIMS to beyond 3 million before the end of the year.
On his part, the Secretary, Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities, Prof Yakubu Ochefu, commended TETFund for putting in place TERAS, even as he called for more funding of the scheme.
Ochefu said “TERAS has been designed as educational technology mall, if you have any technology out there that can fill the gaps and add value to our nation’s edu-tech, please let us know so we can work together.
“I want to draw the attention of the minister to ensure TERAS serves as a research platform for all Nigerians. It has been built on public educational platform and be should be opened to all Nigerians, so that it can be one of the world best repositories.
