UniLag, UniAbuja, 10 others, get
TETFund’s Centres of Excellence
By Uji
Abdullahi Iliyasu
Abuja
Tertiary
Education Trust Fund (TETFund) has selected the Uuniversity of Lagos (UniLag)
University of Abuja (UniAbuja) and ten other federal universities as the
pioneer Centres of Excellence to define the trajectory for the transformation
of tertiary institutions.
Executive
Secretary, TETFund, Professor Suleiman Elias Bogoro, at the inauguration
of the twelve maiden Centres of Excellence Thursday, said the objective was to
address a specific national development challenge through preparation of
professionals, applied research and associated outreach activities to partners,
especially community services.
Bogoro also
disclosed that the board would fund the twelve centres with a grant of one
billion (N1billion) each for five years to enable them attain national
aspirations.
The TETFund
boss said the two selected centres in each of the six geopolitical zones of the
country were expected to ensure the strengthening and sustainability of the
centres beyond the 2025.
In the
North-central, University of Abuja and University of Jos have been selected as
Centres of Excellence in Public Governance and Leadership and Food security
respectively.
“North-east
has Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, TETFind Centre of Excellence in
food security ; University of Maiduguri, Centre of Excellence in Arid Zone
Research and Development, while North-west has Usman Dan Fodio University,
Sokoto, Centre of Excellence in Urology and Nephrology and Bayero University,
Kano, in Renewable Energy.
“Others are,
South-east; Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike and Nnamdi
Azikiwe University, Awka in Root Crop Research, Development and Agriculture
Transitional Studies respectively,” Bogoro said.
In
South-south, University of Benin and University of Uyo got Centres of
Excellence in Aquaculture and Food Technology, and Computational Intelligence
and Multi-Discplinary Studies respectively, while the South-west has university
of Ibadan and University of Lagos in Biodiversity Conservation and Ecosystem
Management.
Bogoro said
the first batch of the institutions were carefully selected while reassuring the
board’s unflinching support towards the realisation of the objectives of the
initiative.
“The
conceptual framework for Centres of Excellence is unlikely to be unfamiliar,
alien or even novel to most of you here. Nevertheless, a Strategic Framework
and Establishment Guidelines for TETFund Centres of Excellence, as approved by
the TETFund Board of Trustees will be made available to all of you.
” Each
selected institution is expected to implement it’s own approved TCOE, with the
objective to address a specific national development challenge through
preparation of professionals, applied research and associated outreach
activities to parrner, especially community services.
He noted
that within that prism, institutions will have autonomy to implement their own institution-specific
proposals to enhance capacity to deliver national high-quality training to
address development challenges.
The major
objective of establishing the Centres, he said, among others, is to
support strategic and applications-oriented research and expertise with
potential industrial application and, bring together the complimentary
resources needed for technical development and industrial application that will
bridge the gap between researchers and users, thereby stimulating and
strengthening triple-helix relationships.
Also, the
chairman, TETFund Board of Trustees, Alhaji Kashim Ibrahim-Imam said that the
TETFund BOT was committed to advancing the tertiary education in all
ramifications. Ibrahim-Iman promised that the fund would continue to sustain
the process of research in the country noting that an additional 12
universities would be established by 2021.
He said, ”
We want you to invest at least 70 per cent of the research grant in safe and
high-yielding financial investment.”
Responding
on behalf of Vice Chancellors of the beneficiary universities, Professor Lilian
Salami, Vice Chancellor, University of Benin , promised to live to expectations
in delivering the task given to them.