We’re not giving more importance to physical infrastructure than research—TETFund
The head of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Sonny Echono, has stated that the organization is not placing a higher priority on physical infrastructure in higher institutions over research.
Echono provided this clarification during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja.
“The truth is that we are doing fencing and other physical infrastructure in tertiary institutions, but we are not prioritising that above research.”
He explained that the reason behind the fencing projects is the country’s unfortunate situation regarding security issues.
“The reason why we are doing that is because, unfortunately for us as a country, we have a peculiar problem, which is insecurity,” he said.
According to him, the amount spent on fencing is less than one-third of what is allocated to research in higher institutions.
“We have been investing in it, we call it security infrastructure. The level of what we are doing in the area of fencing in schools is nothing compared to research in tertiary institutions.”
He noted that fencing will also help protect school property from land encroachment, emphasizing that enclosing school premises is the most effective way to prevent unauthorized land occupation.
He further mentioned that fencing is not exclusive to tertiary institutions, as some secondary schools also benefit from this initiative.
Echono pointed out that the fund is not solely focused on infrastructure but also invests in other areas that contribute to the comprehensive development of tertiary institutions nationwide.
“We are changing the infrastructure, and if you go to our campuses every year, we are investing in upgrading facilities.”
He added that this year, most of the funding has been directed toward improving already existing structures rather than constructing new ones.
“Even this year, we have dedicated most of our funding to improving the existing infrastructure. We say don’t even build new ones, pay attention to the ones that you have,” he said.
