Ranking: TETFund says N1.7bn spent on research without results

The Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Dr Abdullahi Bichi Baffa,said the fund has spent a whooping N1.7 billion on the National Research Fund but the researches have not translated into any improvement in the ranking of tertiary institutions in the country. Baffa stated this in Abuja during an oversight visit to […]

The Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Dr Abdullahi Bichi Baffa,said the fund has spent a whooping N1.7 billion on the National Research Fund but the researches have not translated into any improvement in the ranking of tertiary institutions in the country.

Baffa stated this in Abuja during an oversight visit to the agency by the House of Representatives Committee on Tertiary Education and Services.

“TETFund has spent N1.7 billion on National Research Fund but what has the nation benefitted? Grants (to researchers) will henceforth be based on performance-based research,” he said.

He, however, cautioned institutions against building ‘cubicles’ or ‘matchbox’ structures to serve as physical infrastructures in schools, saying that 30 per cent of the criteria used in the ranking  of universities is based on the environment.

The TETFund boss also decried the continuous choice of poorly ranked foreign universities by beneficiaries of its scholarship and academic training programmes, saying that a substantial number of the scholarship beneficiaries were studying at the bottom of the league universities.

While expressing concern on the low impact such beneficiaries will make on return to the country, Baffa said TETFund was working on a guideline that would henceforth make the choice of top world’s universities mandatory.

He said also that the release of grants for international academic conferences organised by third parties would no longer be allowed.

The chairman of the committee, Aminu Suleiman, called for more attention in the area of provision of infrastructures to the 12 new federal universities established by the last administration, saying that facilities in the schools were not up to 30 per cent of what was required.

He also made a case for the provision of infrastructural needs of tertiary institutions in the Northeast.