TETFund tasks Polytechnics, CoEs on Skills, Entrepreneurial Innovations
The Tertiary Education Trust Fund, TETFund, has challenged polytechnics and colleges of education in the country to redouble their efforts in entrepreneurship and skills development.
Executive Secretary of TETFund, Prof. Suleiman Bogoro, made the call, Tuesday, in Abuja, at a capacity building workshop for heads of selected institutions and staff of TETFund Centres of Excellence.
Bogoro, who said there were indices globally associated with Centres of Excellence, especially in bringing about innovation and development, explained that the two-day event was organised to ensure proper understanding of the concept of the centres by those that will be in charge of them.
He called on the Centres of Excellence in the polytechnics to focus on skills development, entrepreneurship and start-up even as he lamented that most of the low and medium-skilled jobs in the country are being handled by people from Francophone countries. While saying the Centres of Excellence in the colleges of education will focus on relevant pedagogical development, the TETFund boss said the beneficiary centre will get about two million dollars.
Also speaking at the event, which also had in attendance experts from the World Bank-sponsored African Centres of Excellence in universities, Executive Secretary of National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), Prof. Idris Muhammad Bugaje, commended Bogoro for his passion for the institutionalisation of Research and Development.
The NBTE boss expressed serious concerns that most major infrastructure projects in the country are being dominated by skilled personnel from other countries.
“Recall that TETFund had recently established Centres of Excellence in six polytechnics and six colleges of education.
The beneficiary institutions selected equally from each of the six geo-political zones in the country are; Federal Polytechnic Nasarawa, Nasarawa State; Federal College of Education, Pankshin, Plateau State (North Central), Federal Polytechnic, Bauchi, Bauchi State, Federal College Education, Yola, Adamawa State, (North East), Federal Polytechnic, Kaduna, Kaduna State, Federal College of Education, Zaria, Kaduna State (North-West).
The South-East has Federal Polytechnic, Nekede, Imo State and the Alvan Federal of Education, Owerri, Imo State. The South-South’s beneficiaries include Federal Polytechnic, Auchi, Edo State and Federal College of Education (Technical), Omoku, Rivers State while Yaba College of Technology, Lagos and Adeyemi College Education, Ondo State made it from the South-West.
