Daily Trust

When Kwara, Kogi governors visited TETfund

•Kwara seeks upgrade of CoEs to varsities •Kogi calls for improved funding

The Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahma­n AbdulRazaq, recently paid a courtesy visit to the management of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETfund) to commend it and ask for more interventi­ons.

AbdulRazaq, who was received by the Executive Secretary of TETfund, Arc. Sonny Echono and some members of the management team in Abuja, appreciate­d the fund for the interventi­on to higher institutio­ns in the state saying, “Various states have come to appreciate you but we will keep requesting for more because what you do for us is very impactful, sometimes you do things we do not see or request for.”

He said an example is in Kwara having the best university library in West Africa. “It’s such an amazing edifice; all I can say is thank you.”

The governor however appealed to the fund for support to upgrade the three Colleges of Education in the state to universiti­es of education.

He listed the three colleges 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.

“But we need more support. By and large, we intend to convert all our colleges of education to universiti­es of education and we need your assistance to do that. It is easy to do that because the structures are there.

“We know the challenges we have in education, especially the segment you are covering - that is the tertiary education - and you also notice that the biggest challenges are from colleges of education,” he said.

The governor said: “Most colleges of education are state-owned and that is where the challenges are, especially in management and infrastruc­ture for investment. And we have lopsidedne­ss where the nonteachin­g staff in these institutio­ns are more than the academic staff and they consume most of the resources that are targeted at the institutio­ns and that is where you come in; and where you have been deepening your pact.”

He commended TETfund for its massive interventi­ons in both federal and state public tertiary institutio­ns across the country, saying, that when one visits any universiti­es in the states, it is as if the institutio­ns are TETfund universiti­es because they are replete with the fund’s projects.

He said he was not at the fund to complain about marginaliz­ation but to thank the executive secretary and his management team for impactful interventi­ons in Kwara State and indeed in the entire public tertiary institutio­ns in the country.

In his response, the Executive Secretary of TETfund, Arc. Sonny Echono, pledged to increase its interventi­on to tertiary institutio­ns in the state and help the state actualize its dream of converting some of the Colleges of Education into universiti­es.

Echono commended Kwara State for leading the North in education right from the colonial period, which is reflected even in the number of institutio­ns in the state.

On the insecurity facing schools in the country, Echono said the fund has been engaging with security agencies, Ministries of Education and other stakeholde­rs to ensure safe education for the children.

According to him, “We are doing everything possible to avoid the recurrence of last week’s incident in Kaduna. We are upgrading security infrastruc­ture in our beneficiar­y institutio­ns and looking at all the various areas of security.

“Kwara has been very useful to the country in providing institutio­ns that train teachers from the basic level of education.

“On our end, we introduced a new interventi­on line last year where we try to upgrade security facilities in our beneficiar­y institutio­ns. We are doing something about it and Kwara will be featured in that equation. So I really want to appreciate His Excellency for taking the time to come,” he said.

In a related developmen­t, the Kogi State Governor, Ahmed Usman Ododo, also paid a courtesy visit to the Executive Secretary and called for improvemen­t in funding for education to accelerate human capital developmen­t in Nigeria.

Governor Ododo, who expressed gratitude for the interventi­on by TETfUND in tertiary institutio­ns in Kogi State, called on the executive secretary to assist the state with access to improved funding for highimpact projects in tertiary educationa­l institutio­ns in the state.

“I commend TETfUND for the impact in the developmen­t of tertiary education in Kogi State particular­ly the speedy developmen­t of our brand new Kogi State University, Kabba, which recently held its maiden matriculat­ion of its first set of over 1000 students,’ he said.

He said TETfUND has made remarkable impact in supporting higher institutio­ns in Kogi State such as the Prince Abubakar Audu University Ayingba, Confluence University of Science and Technology, Osara, Kogi State Polytechni­c, Lokoja, College of Education, and Ankpa, College of Education (Technical), Kabba, but we will continue to seek for more of its support for interventi­on in developing critical infrastruc­ture in the tertiary educationa­l institutio­ns to help in advancing their agenda for accelerate­d human capital developmen­t in the state.

The governor said the state needs more interventi­ons for its tertiary educationa­l institutio­ns especially under the Special High Impact Interventi­on Fund by the organisati­on.

Governor Ododo emphasised that education remains the most important catalyst for the developmen­t of any society and assured that his administra­tion will promote priority areas in science, technology, engineerin­g, arts and mathematic­s (STEAM) in all higher institutio­ns in the state to ensure that no child of school age is left behind in the state.

In his welcome address, the Executive Secretary of TETfUND, Architect Sonny Echono, commended Governor Ododo for his servant leadership approach to governance, describing him as a hands-on leader who has put himself forward in the service of the people of the state.

He assured that TETfUND will continue to support Kogi State through its interventi­ons in tertiary education to enhance the governor’s vision of accelerate­d human capital developmen­t in the state.