TETFund Seeks Long Term Financing For Education Programme

The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) has stated that it will explore the possibility of getting long term financing from African Development Bank (AfDB) for subsequent editions of the Energizing Education Programme (EEP).

Executive Secretary of TETFund, Sonny Echono who made this known during a courtesy visit to his office by the Managing Director of Rural Electrification Agency (REA), Salihijo Ahmad, in Abuja, said getting long term finance package for the project would be cost effective as only short term funds are currently available to the agency.

The EEP is an initiative of the Federal Government, implemented by the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) to provide sustainable and clean power supply to 37 Federal Universities and seven University Teaching Hospitals across Nigeria.

He expressed the Fund’s readiness to partner with the Agency to ensure uninterrupted power supply in universities and other tertiary institutions in the country.

Echono commended the REA for the implementation of the programme, while emphasising the need for a steady power supply in tertiary institutions.

“There is sheer acceptance that this is important for us as we move to improve not just the physical infrastructure but also ICT infrastructure and research infrastructure in our institutions.

“A lot of these require a constant supply of power. There are certain samples you must put at a certain temperature for a prolonged period. There are certain operations you do in a medical laboratory that you cannot afford to cease power even for a second.

“And, if we really want to guarantee a learning environment that can compete with others across the globe, one of the primary things we can do is to guarantee power in our campuses,” Echono said.

Earlier, the Managing Director of REA, Salihijo, said the EEP is aimed at providing sustainable and clean power supply to 37 Federal Universities and seven university teaching hospitals across Nigeria.

He added that the programme has already commenced in 24 universities and selected teaching hospitals and called for the cooperation of TETFund to ensure the total success of the scheme.

He said, “Infrastructure is not just about classrooms and lecture theaters, with the current situation in the country, it is becoming more apparent that we have decentralised power systems. They are very important for our institutions like universities.”

Salihijo said getting additional resources for the EEP from TETFund would go a long way to scale up the programme in the nation’s universities.