The Coordinator of Vanguard for Credible Representation (VCR), an Abuja-based civil society group, Comrade Akinloye Oyeniyi, has commended the management of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), over the support provided to bail out 1,500 Nigerian scholars studying abroad under the Fund’s academic training programme.
Oyeniyi while speaking during an education forum meeting in Abuja, expressed delight hearing the news that the scholars hitherto struggling with the effect of the current exchange rate of the naira have been bailed out.
The Executive Secretary of TETFund, Arc Sonny Echono, has made this known during a recent oversight visit to the Fund by the House of Representatives Committee on Tertiary Education Trust Fund.
Recall that the high exchange rate caused some challenges for TETFund-sponsored scholars making many of them to request for extra funding as their studies were threatened with stoppage by the institutions in which they were studying.
In his remarks, Oyeniyi said the unfortunate issue would have resulted in a drop in the number of beneficiaries of the Fund’s academic training programme in foreign institutions and praised the government for rising to the occasion through TETFUND.
While saying that the remittances process for scholars in the past was not that good, as many institutions do come back to TETFund expressing concerns over the payment system, he remarked that now the Fund, under Echono, pays directly to the institutions as part of management’s intervention while CBN now transfers in bulk to different foreign institutions of those scholars.
“We, in the group can authoritatively tell you all, that TETFund is no more the Fund you know before. Under the current Executive Secretary, any project to be executed by the Fund are now being planned, packaged and selected by the beneficiary institutions for review and concurrence of the Fund. Nothing like TETFund or vendor-promoted projects anymore. It is what is needed now that is provided, and that is commendable”, Oyeniyi remarked.
“The Fund was also aplauded for partnering with the Brazilian Government and Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), for agri-economics research, this will no doubt assist the country as regards food security and improved nutrition”, the group said.
