More Tertiary Education Trust Fund intervention projects are needed at the Yusuf Maitama Sule University and the Kano University of Science and Technology in Wudil, according to Governor Abba Yusuf of Kano State.
Yusuf made the call while paying Sonny Echono, the Executive Secretary of the TETFund, a courtesy visit in Abuja. He emphasized the need of the Kano administration and the fund working closely together to guarantee better education delivery.
“The purpose of my visit is to ensure continued collaboration between the Kano government and TETFund in terms of projects and other educational assistance to these two universities.
“Of course, my predecessor established the third university in the state but as far as we are concerned, these two universities are closed to our heart,” he said.
He commended TETFund for its various infrastructure projects in tertiary institutions across the country.
The governor specifically called for TETFund’s support in the two universities in the areas of provision of more facilities, training, and retraining of staff as well as flood control in Kano University of Science and Technology, Wudil.
“Firstly, we are here to thank the management for those intervention programmes and projects being executed in the two universities.
“Specifically I am more interested in infrastructure development, why because if you do not have classrooms, you don’t have hostels, you don’t have libraries or facilities then the entire system will collapse.
“So the most important thing as far as university or any other tertiary education institution is concerned is to ensure the provision of infrastructures.
“If you look at most universities in the country, without the support of TETFund they won’t be where they are today in terms of educational facilities.
“Number two, I am more concerned about the training and retraining of the staff of the universities. TETFund has been assisting in areas of training and retraining,” the governor said.
Meanwhile, the TETFund’s Executive Secretary, Sonny Echono who congratulated Governor Yusuf on his victory in the March 2023 gubernatorial election, said the fund is ready to partner with the government to improve the fortunes of tertiary education institutions in the state.
Echono described Kano as not only center of commerce but also that of learning with over a dozen universities in the state.
“TETFund intervenes in three institutions within a state; that is the universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education.
“The board of Trustees, in order to ensure we concentrate resources and achieve meaningful impact, placed limitations on a number of institutions.
“So, we do not encourage states to just establish multiple institutions with only the intention of targeting TETFund intervention.
“It actually enrolls two similar types of institutions at a time, and even when we enlist two institutions at a time, what I mean is either two universities or two polytechnics or two colleges of education.
“In order to meet the provision of our law that talks about equality of states, to ensure we do not favor one particular state over the order. States that have more than one institution, actually, alternate them,” he said.
(NAN)
