The Tertiary Education Trust Fund, TETFund, says it is considering the suspension of scholarships to Nigerian lecturers for PhDs and Masters degrees studies in foreign institutions.
Executive Secretary of TETFund, Arc. Sonny Echono, who stated this at a One-Day Stakeholders Engagement on Emerging Issues with the TETFund Intervention in Abuja, on Wednesday, said the fund is also considering the upward review of local scholarships into Nigerian institutions.
Echono said the move is necessitated by the recent monetary policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, which has resulted in a sharp drop in the value of the Naira, and created difficulties in the payment of foreign scholarship tuition fees and stipends.
The TETfund boss disclosed that the fund has successfully sponsored over 37,000 scholars for both foreign and local PhDs, Masters, Bench Work, and Postdoc programs in various institutions, but encountered difficulties that compelled a review of foreign scholarships.
According to him, since the fund’s allocation was barely enough to service programmes under its Tertiary Scholarship for Academic Staff (TSAS), the fund was considering suspending foreign scholarships while also considering upward review of local scholarships.
”The Fund at this material time is also discouraging beneficiary institutions from initiating new Benchwork programmes.
”Additionally, there are issues related to scholars not returning to serve their bonds at their home institutions upon completion of their programmes. In fact, the challenge of scholars absconding has undermined and complicated the TSAS programme and bringing it under intense scrutiny.
”It is for these and other reasons that this engagement was organised. We need to address these challenges and find solutions to ensure the effective and smooth implementation of our scholarship programmes,” he said.
The executive secretary noted that the Fund had recently signed several MoU’s with some prestigious institutions overseas that include universities in Malaysia, India, Brazil, France and the United States with a view to boosting and enhancing the TSAS programme in the future.
On his part, the Acting Executive Secretary of National Universities Commission, NUC, Mr. Chris Maiyaki, stressed the need to develop new strategies for funding.
Maiyaki advised the fund to revamp its monitoring for quality assurance so as to have a better return on investment on its projects.
Meanwhile, the Chairman, House Committee on TETFund, Princes Miriam Onuoha, said in making essential infrastructure available in tertiary institutions, there was need to ensure inclusivity especially with Persons Living with Disabilities, PLWD.
While delivering a presentation titled “TETFund Scholarship for Academic Staff Programmes: Emerging Challenges and Possible Solutions,” former Executive Secretary of NUC, Prof. Peter Okebukola, called for a monitoring and implementation system to ensure that academic calendars of universities were adhered to.
While advocating for reduced TETFund oversees scholarships, and encouraging in-country training in TETFund strengthened PG programmes, Okebukola said rather than continuously spending a lot of funds on foreign training, local universities should be provided with state-of-the-art facilities while carrying out accreditation of postgraduate programmes.
”In offering solutions to these challenges, there is need to offer TETFund support to top-rate lecturers from oversees universities to come to Nigeria to join local PG training by Nigerian professors.
”We must send professors (of at least 10 years standing) for capacity building to top-rate overseas universities in carefully selected programmes on return to bolster doctoral education and supervision,” he said.
