TETFUND: FG sets to spend N3b on high impact research
…FG won’t extend intervention to private institutions – Baffa
By LAIDE AKINBOADE-ORIERE
Abuja – The Federal Government, yesterday, revealed that it has
sets aside over N3 billion for high impact research intervention
fund for researchers in public tertiary institutions in Nigeria.
The Executive Secretary of Tertiary Education Trust Fund,
TETFund, Dr. Abdullahi Bichi Baffa, stated this while fielding
questions from journalists, in Abuja, he said the government
doesn’t have any plan to extend TETFUND intervention to
private institutions in Nigeria.
According to Baffa, “Research is one of the core mandate of the
fund, the fund is suppose to bridge the infrastructural gap in
our public tertiary institutions.
We have been supporting research institutions, where we can
allocate up to N15 million for academics in the Universities and
upto N10 million to academics in Polytechnics and Colleges of
Education. These are research grants awarded to qualified
scholars that participated in a regorous process of screening,
after sending their proposals.
“About N3 billion has been earmarked to support the high impact
research at the National Research Fund level.
“We also distribute research funds annually to universities to
support degree research, where staff of benefiting universities
are conducting research and they are supported and individual or
independent research are also funded through the National
Research Fund.
“Research is one of our focal point, we are determined to
support cutting edge research that would lead to turn around
the fortune of Nigeria”.
“Such research would increase our production and improve our
efficiency and easing the lives of our citizens.
“The more we research the more we industrialise our country.
And the more we create more jobs”, he said.
On inclusion of private tertiary institutions on TETFUND,
intervention fund he said, “I won’t Suggest a public should be be
given to private institutions. We don’t have any plan to extend
the fund to private institutions”.