TETfund Grants: Researchers Are Enriching Themselves Instead Of Finding Solutions To Nation’s Challenges

Less than three weeks after the Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Suleiman Elias Bogor said research grants were meant to help find solutions to problems confronting the country, the Agency has alleged that lecturers in the nation’s public tertiary institutions were spending research grants on themselves.

TETFund’s director of research and development, Salihu Bakari disclosed this at a workshop in Dubai.

This is coming a few weeks after Bogoro affirmed (at a function at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU), Bauchi) in January that research grants were meant to help researchers find solutions to the nation’s challenges and promote socio-economic development.

Recall also that THE WHISTLER had reported that some Nigerian students called for an investigation into the numerous research grants and projects across tertiary institutions in the country.

But in faraway Dubai, Bakari said that the organization is concerned that some lecturers who access research grants feed their personal desires with the funds to the detriment of the nation.

“It is sad to note that public funds made available to lecturers to conduct groundbreaking and demand-driven researches towards solving Nigeria’s socio-economic, and even political challenges, are misappropriated by those who are expected to be above board. I mean the beneficiaries of our grants.

“Through our recovery efforts, we had traced monies to houses built by lecturers with the public fund; there are cases of cars purchased with the money, without any research work done. And these are the people who would be accusing politicians of being corrupt,” he said.

According to Premium Times, who covered the event, he also accused many of the academic institutions of committing worse crimes.

Students who spoke to THE WHISTLER also called for severe penalties for defaulters who divert funds meant for the upgrade of schools as well as the society, adding that engaging the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) would be helpful to TETFund in tracking corrupt folks in the education sector.

“The last time EFCC came to our school, they were probed and when they were found wanting, our registrar was sacked,” an alumnus of one of the federal universities told THE WHISTLER.