President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) and Chancellor, Precious Cornerstone University, Ibadan, Bishop Francis Wale Oke, has advocated a review of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) Act of 2011.
Bishop Oke made the call Sunday while speaking as the guest lecturer at the maiden Archbishop Benson Idahosa Memorial Lecture held at the Legacy Campus of the Benson Idahosa University, Benin, on The Role of Faith-Based Universities in National Transformation.
The PFN president stated that the review is necessary so that privately-owned tertiary institutions in the country could benefit from the fund just like those owned by government.
Bishop Oke said the federal government should through the National Assembly evolve mechanism for the amendment of the TETFUND Act, taking into cognisance the fact that the circumstances have changed from the time when the Education Trust Fund (ETF) was established in 1993, with private universities now entrenched and significant players in the development of education space.
He stated that inclusion of private universities as beneficiaries, would enable them to access funds for essential physical infrastructure for teaching and learning, institutional material and equipment, research and publications and academic, staff training and development, as well as other critical needs that would help with the overall improvement and maintenance of standards in the higher educational institutions, helping TETFUND fulfill the mandate for which it was established.
