TETFund commits N4bn to varsity infrastructure in FUNAI

Over N4 billion has been spent by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) for the development of infrastructure in Federal University, Ndufu Alike, Ebonyi State, one of the 12 new federal universities established by the President Goodluck Jonathan administration.

Bursar of the university, Aliyu Kolawole, made the disclosure while addressing newsmen during an evaluation of the progress so far recorded in the university.

Aliyu, who gave a breakdown of the year-by-year funding of projects in the institution by TETFund, said the funds include a N1.5 billion take-off grant allocated to the school in 2011 as well as the presidential high impact intervention in 2013, to the tune of N1.15 billion, among others.

According to him, the support from TETFund was used to fund the vast infrastructure that adorned the landscape of the institution.

Earlier, the registrar of the university, Gabriel Chukwu, said the university had 16 departments and a carrying capacity of 1,000 students in the 2015/2016 academic session.

Chukwu noted that most of the infrastructure in the university was entirely funded by TETFund, stressing that the university could not had done much without massive support from the agency.

Speaking on Academic Staff Development, the registrar said 12 staff of the institution were currently undertaking postgraduate studies abroad while six others were equally studying in Nigerian universities.

Also speaking, Afam Icha-Ituma, acting director of academic planning in FUNAI, noted that research grant provided by TETFund had enabled a number of staff engaged in high quality research work, saying up to 15 members of staff of the institution benefited from different research endeavours, funded by TETFund.

“Indeed, TETFund has been our primary source of support in terms of developing academic capacity. We believe in research-led teaching and it enhances student learning experience,” he said.

He, however, noted that it was too early to assess the impact of academic staff development programme in the university because most of the beneficiaries were still studying for their postgraduate programmes in the Diaspora.

One of the beneficiary of the research grant and head of Economic Department, Philip Umoke, expressed gratitude to TETFund for the grant to his department, adding that two staff from the department had benefited from the research grant.

“Another 10 of our staff have benefited from the conference attendance grant. So, we have benefited so much from the fund and we have to be very grateful to TETFund,” he said.

In his remarks, Omaka Ndukaku, head of Chemistry Department of the university, said his department got three research grants in various areas, including water quality, which had been a burning issue in Ebonyi State.

Ndukaku said the department had developed novel compounds, which are now being characterised, and hoped to produce an interesting research output on that direction.