TETFund Reforms Eliminate Vendors and Contracts in Staff Training

Favour Ishember, Abuja

The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) has announced a significant reform in its academic and professional staff training interventions, eliminating the use of vendors and contracts.

Instead, the fund leverages Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) to deliver content-based training, ensuring transparency and cost-effectiveness.

Executive Secretary of TETFund, Arc Sonny Echono, clarified this during an interview, addressing allegations of questionable contracts worth N7.6 billion. He explained that TETFund has been using MoUs since 2016 to sponsor academic and professional training, including postdoctoral research, bench work, and ICT proficiency certifications.

Echono highlighted the benefits of MoUs, citing a recent agreement with CAMPUS France, which reduced tuition fees for Nigerian scholars by 20%. Similarly, an MoU with the Federation of African Research Association (FARA) in Brazil provides free tuition for Nigerian scholars.

He said, TETFund has received over 800 applications for 150 spaces in the FARA program, demonstrating the demand for affordable and quality training. Echono emphasized that the fund has removed middlemen, restored institutional image, and achieved significant savings through direct negotiations with copyright owners.

He differentiated between infrastructure projects, where contracts are suitable, and content-based interventions, where MoUs are more effective. Echono reiterated that contracts are geared towards profit, while MoUs prioritize the needs of students and academicians.

This reform has brought transparency and efficiency to TETFund’s training interventions, ensuring that resources are utilized effectively to benefit Nigeria’s academic community.