BY Stephen Kenechi
The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) has inaugurated three ad hoc committees to ramp up skills development in the country and strengthen its interventionist activities.
The committees include one for the operationalisation of equipment upgrades in workshops and laboratories for universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education.
The other committees are for the review of TETFund centres of excellence and the operationalisation of special interventions for skills development.
Sonny Echono, the executive secretary of TETFund, who inaugurated the committees, charged members to ensure the various skills facilities are utilised for effective operations.
Echono said skills development is one of the priority areas of the government to address youth unemployment and poverty in society.
The executive secretary commended the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) for formalising informal apprenticeship training through the national skills qualification framework (NSOF).
He said a provision has been made in polytechnics for skill programmes under the TETFund’s special interventions.
“Concerted efforts are being made to identity more innovative ways to enhance research capacities of our beneficiary institutions and promote skills development for our teeming youths,” Echono said.
“Improving and expanding Nigeria’s R&D infrastructure and facilities are essential to raise the level of productivity and move the country to a knowledge-based economy.”
Echono explained that the fund made provision under the 2024 intervention to upgrade the equipment in workshops and laboratories for universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education.
He said the fund constituted an advisory committee chaired by Hayward Babale, a professor, to advise on the operationalisation of the upgrade of equipment in the workshop and laboratories of the institutions.
On the committee for the review of TETFund centres of excellence, Echono said the fund will upgrade the most performing centres.
He said a provision has also been made for a skill development programme in polytechnics under the fund’s special interventions.
He added that TETFund constituted an advisory committee chaired by Idris Bugaje, the executive secretary of the NBTE, to advise on the modalities for the operationalisation of its special intervention for skills development.
The executive secretary asked the committees to submit their reports within six weeks from the day of inauguration.
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