TETFUND Seeks Approval For Independent Monitoring of Projects in Institutions

The Executive Secretary, Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Suleiman Bogoro, has said the organisation is working on gaining the approval of its Board of Trustees to introduce independent monitoring of projects to ensure maximum transparency in its processes.

Prof Bogoro, at a press briefing in Abuja on Tuesday, said the agency is facing “gross challenges in some institutions over the poor handling of intervention projects by some contractors.

“Yes, there are institutions we have sent outright queries from our monitoring and evaluation unit. We have undertaken a forensic audit and that is why we are trying to gain the approval of the Board of Trustees to introduce independent monitoring. This is to demonstrate transparency.”

Prof Bogoro who reiterated that private tertiary institutions in the country cannot be funded by the federal government said this is because they have only six per cent of the total students’ population while the public institutions have 94 per cent.

He said since the number of private and public universities in the country was about the same, “there was justification for the funding of only public institutions because of the overwhelming students’ population”.

“I have said before that the public institutions have 94 per cent students while private is less than six per cent. So there is justification in our law that we are not funding private institutions.

“We are funding public institutions because that is where the majority of the students are and particularly, the children of the less privileged,” he said.

Prof Bogoro also disclosed that “From 2020, TETFund would begin to establish Centres of Excellence across public universities to boost researches and development.