TETFund harps on innovation

 By Maryam Abeeb

The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) has called on Polytechnics and colleges of education in the country to up their games in academic programmes’ innovation to position the country on the path of rapid development.

Executive Secretary of TETFund, Professor Suleiman Bogoro, made the call at a capacity building workshop for heads of selected institutions and staff of TETFund Centres of Excellence  in Abuja.

Bogoro, who said there are indices that are globally associated with Centres of Excellence, especially in bringing about innovation and development, said the two-day event was organized to ensure proper understanding of the concept of the centers by those that will be in charge of them.

Bogoro called on the Centres of Excellence in the polytechnics to focus on skills development, entrepreneurship and start-ups even as he lamented that most of the low and medium skilled jobs in the country are being handled by people from Francophone countries.

“For the polytechnics, the centers of excellence are to focus on skills development and support entrepreneurship, start ups….

“In areas of competitive advantage and you know that skills development is central, it is fundamental. If you miss that area, if your polytechnics does not have the capacity to develop skills or the entrepreneurial ability of its students and researchers,  then it has failed the nation.

“That is the area that has been very worrisome for us each time will reflect. It is very embarrassing that in Nigeria, if you go to construction sites, it has improved recently, believe me, Some ten years back,  you will to likely to see Francophone personnel that are at construction site more than Nigerians, that shows something is missing, but the polytechnics are trying to address it,” Bogoro said.

While saying the Centres of Excellence in the colleges of education will focus on relevant pedagogical development, the TETFund boss said  beneficiary centers 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 institutionilisation of Research and Development.

Bugaje, who said Bogoro’s name would be written in gold if the history of the country’s academic community was written, said polytechnics must wake up to their responsibility of producing skilled manpower in the country.

The NBTE boss expressed serious concerns that most major infrastructure projects in the country are being dominated by skilled personnel from other countries.

“There is a need for our polytechnics to be focused on skills training, that is why we say from 2023, NBTE shall never go for any accreditation to any polytechnic where there is not a single skills training center,” Bugaje said.