Over 25,000 scholars sponsored for postgraduate programmes —TETFund boss •Says access to intervention fund now 60% •TETFund adding value to Nigerians —Tribune MD

THE Executive Secretary Tertiary Education Trust, Dr Abdullahi Bichi Baffa, has disclosed that over 25,000 university lecturers have been sponsored for their postgraduate programmes, including Masters and Doctorate degrees in the last few years.

This, according according to him, was an attempt to bridge the gap of the shortage of qualified lecturers in tertiary institutions across the country.

He made this know  in Abuja, on Monday, when he received in his office, the Managing Managing Director and Editor-in-Chief of African Newspapers of Nigeria Plc, Mr Edward Dickson, who was accompanied by the Editor, Sunday Tribune, Mr Sina Oladeinde, Abuja Bureau Chief, Mr Taiwa Adisa and Mr Abayomi Dada, on a courtesy visit.

Baffa further disclosed that TETFund had achieved about 60 per cent improvement in access to intervention funds by the beneficiary institutions because of various initiatives introduced since he came on board as the Executive Secretary of the agency.

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He commended the Tribune titles for objective reportage, saying “we see Tribune as one our best friends because we monitor our visibility and coverage of our activities by both electric and print media. Our profile in the eye of Tribune is very clear on the pages of the newspaper.

He noted that the agency had been successful in both tangible and intangible intervention programmes.

Baffa said it was unfortunate that most people out there saw the tangible intervention, which was the intervention in physical infrastructure, saying the agency supported the beneficiary institutions on provision of physical infrastructure for teaching and learning.

He, however, explained that the buildings and physical infrastructure only form about 25 per cent of what the agency was doing in the beneficiary institutions.

The Executive Executive, further said that the mandate of the fund includes the provision of intervention support for research and publication as well as academic training and development.

Earlier, the Managing Director of ANN Plc, Mr Edward Dickson, in his opening remark, said he was glad that TETFund had added value to Nigerians through the tremendous intervention projects in tertiary institutions across the country.

Dickson said he and some management staff of the company were at the TETFund Headquarters to congratulate the Executive Secretary as well as see how to further cement the existing relationship between the Tribune and TETFund.

He said he was particularly interested in the partnership not just because TETFund was an intervention agency in education sector but the due process and integrity, the TETFund boss had brought to bear in the management of the agency, which the Managing Director said were the hallmark of the Sage and founder of ANN Plc, Chief Obafemi Awolowo.