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The debate over the conversion of colleges of education to universities in Nigeria is hitting up with various groups kicking against the idea. Tje latest is the Senior Staff Union in Colleges of Education (SSUCOEN), which has appealed to the Federal Government to stop incessant conversion of the Colleges of Education to universities. Mr Danladi Msheliza, President of SSUCOEN said this in a communique jointly signed by Nwenyi Isioma, National Secretary of the union on Thursday in Abuja. The communique was issued at the 38th National Delegates Conference of the union held at Federal College of Education (Technical) Bichi, Kano State. Msheliza said that the Conference viewed recent decision to convert some Colleges of Education (COEs) to universities as a misguided and short-sighted move. According to him, this will have far-reaching devastating consequences for the education sector. “This conversion will not only lead to the erosion of the unique identity and purpose of COEs,...

The Tertiary Education Trust Fund, TETFund, has said part of the reforms it carried out was to eliminate the use of vendors and contracts in its academic and professional staff training interventions. The fund said contracts were no longer used for its content-based interventions except in infrastructural projects where the procurement of goods, tools, laboratory equipment and others are needed. Executive Secretary of TETFund, Arc Sonny Echono, stated this during an interview with newsmen on the sidelines of the 2nd Registrars' Workshop and 75th Business Meeting of the Association of Registrars of Nigerian Universities, ARNU, in Abuja. Echono’s reactions come on the heels of allegations by an online publication that TETFund awarded N7.6 billion questionable contracts within two months, saying the fund acted outside its mandate in carrying out capacity building programmes in its beneficiary institutions. But the TETFund boss took time to explain that the fund has been le...

I n a bold move to address the pressing issue of students accommodation, the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) has announced its groundbreaking initiative to initiate hostel construction projects in 36 Campuses across the country this year. Executive secretary of TETFund, Arch. Sonny Echono, disclosed this when the leadership of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) paid him a courtesy visit in Abuja on Tuesday. Echono also hinted that the Fund is working on providing free internet for students in both public and private tertiary institutions across the country. He appreciated NANS for the level of support and maturity they have shown in advancing the interest of Nigerian students through constructive engagements. The executive secretary said while there are misconceptions that the focus of TETfund is on schools, infrastructure and lecturers, the students are the real focus. "I want to assure you that we will continue to support NANS, w...

The Kwara State Governor,  AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, has appealed to the management of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) for support in the upgrade of the three Colleges of Education in the state to Universities of Education.  AbdulRazaq, made the call when he paid a working visit to the Executive Secretary of Tertiary Education Trust Fund, Arc. Sonny Echono on Wednesday in Abuja.  He listed the three college s of education for conversion into Universities to include: Kwara State College of Education, Oro; Kwara State College of Education (Technical), Lafiagi; and Kwara State College of Education, Ilorin.  AbdulRazaq revealed that most of the colleges of education which are state-owned were faced with management challenges including infrastructure, poor investment, and lopsidedness where the non-teaching staff are far more than the academic staff of the institutions.  He commended TETFund for its massive interventions ...

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the sum of N683,429,268 billion as the 2024 Intervention Funds for public tertiary education institutions in the country. The Executive Secretary of  Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Sonny Echono, disclosed this on Friday, during the Fund’s Strategic planning meeting with heads of beneficiary institutions in Abuja. Echono said from the total, 90.75 % is budgeted for direct disbursement and 8.94 % for some designated special projects. A stabilization of 2.27 % is allowed to enable the Fund respond to emerging issues.  He also disclosed that each University shall get, for the Year 2024 intervention cycle, the total sum of N1,906,944,930.00, each Polytechnic N1,165,355,235.00 while each College of Education shall get N1,398,426,282.00. This year's intervention witnessed a boost as compared to last year where over N320 billion was disbursed. It would be recalled that the 2023 intervent...