Association seeks TETFund support for colleges of health sciences

By Philip Yatai

The Association of Provost of Colleges of Health Sciences and Technology of Nigeria has called on the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) to extend funding support to colleges of health institutions.

The Chairman, Dr Bayo Ojo, who made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kaduna on Sunday, urged the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) to support the move.

“We have been making this call for a long time now without success. We want critical stakeholders to support us, particularly the NBTE for it to become a reality.

“Colleges of Health Sciences and Technology are also tertiary institutions in Nigeria that need TETFund support to bridge funding gap and improve standard and quality,” Ojo said.

He pointed out that universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education were currently enjoying TETFund support while colleges of health sciences were excluded.

According to him, TETFund should not be discriminatory since it is established to bridge funding gaps in tertiary institutions in the country.

“The first tertiary institution established in Nigeria was a School of Hygiene in Yaba, Lagos in 1920, followed by Yaba College of Technology in 1932 and later the University of Ibadan in 1945.

“But today, all public tertiary institutions – the universities, polytechnics and colleges of education are enjoying TETFund support while colleges of health sciences were exempted,” he said.

The chairman said that the association had approached the Federal Government about three years ago asking that funding support should be extended to them through TETFund without success.

He added that the association had submitted a proposal to the National Assembly, calling for a review of the law establishing TETFund to accommodate all tertiary institutions to no avail.

He stressed that the funding support, if considered, would significantly improve the standard and quality of colleges of health sciences and technology in the country.

Ojo argued that the support should equally be extended to the private polytechnics and universities who were also exempted from TETFund support.

“Since education is the responsibility of all, the government should support non-state actors who are supporting to increase access to tertiary education in the country.

“This will help to accommodate the teeming Nigerians youths out there, seeking for admission amidst limited space in available institutions,” Ojo said.

(NAN)