The Chairman House of Representatives committee on Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) Miriam Odinaka- Onuoha has expressed concern on inability of tertiary institutions to assess funds allocated to them and promised to amend the law establishing the TETFUND which has been an impediment.
The chairman of the committee said this when she and members of the committee visited Lagos on Monday to find out why the tertiary institutions in the state have not been assessing the funds allocated to them between 2017 and 2023.
“Myself and the committee, alongside the relevant departments TETFUND agency and team of consultants that have made up a technical team,are here on a working visit to Lagos State governor and the state to intimate them of the solution of the house and indeed the committee on TETFUND and other services to ensure that the accumulated unassessed TETFUND intervention to affected institutions from 2017 to 2023 are not released to the beneficiary institutions” She said.
She explained that on the 28th of May 2024 the committee embarked on its annual oversight to TETFUND agency and in the course of their job,they found out that some institutions were behind in assessing their TETFUND intervention which government has allocated to bridge infrastructure gap in the tertiary institutions.
“Rising from an extra ordinary committee meeting,the committee resolved to work with TETFUND and the affected institutions to ensure that the impediment which has given rise to this interventions accumulating unassessed be relaxed to ensure the Nigerian people enjoy the intervention made to them and have the value for money.”
The committee chairman further explained that TETFUND intervention does not come with a matching ground but, it comes with a guideline which intending beneficiary or ongoing beneficiary must meet up to ensure compliance as set out in the Act.”So we are reviewing with our stakeholders challenges that they have been having.
“From what we see there are nine items to deal with physical infrastructure, research and development, training of staffs and maintenance,i would have thought that the challenge has to do with physical infrastructure but we see also that we have unassessed funding for training and research, fabrication of equipment to bring technology gap,that will mean our institutions will need to sit up ensure that we use and utilise these funds well.”
Responding, Lagos State commissioner for Tertiary Education Hon. Tolani Sule said the State government is grateful for the steps taken by the committee to find out why institutions have not been assessing the fund allocated to them saying that was a better approach to solve problem.
He noted that since the lawmakers have assured them, that the impediment would be removed, there would be upward assessment of the fund.
