The federal government has inaugurated two hostels in Federal Polytechnic Oko, Anambra State.
The male and female hostels, valued at N550 million, were sponsored by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETfund) as its 2020 special intervention in the institution.
Inaugurating the facilities, chairman, Senate Committee on Petroleum, Downstream and member, Senate Committee on Education and TETFund, Senator Ifeanyi Ubah, reiterated the National Assembly’s willingness to continue working with the executive towards making the nation’s educational institutions globally competitive for economic and technological development.
Ubah, representing Anambra South Senatorial district in the National Assembly, also assured that the Senate would continue to provide necessary support to the Fund through enactment of legislations that could advance tertiary education in the country.
He said: “I assure you that the 10th Senate under the leadership of Godswill Akpabio and indeed, the entire National Assembly will continue to provide necessary support for the Fund through the enactment of legislations that would further advance tertiary education in Nigeria.
“Aside from the support for physical infrastructure and provision of equipment at the institution, TETFund has also sponsored 101 lecturers for Ph.D from the polytechnic in both foreign and local institutions with a sum of N487,527,656.10.
“Likewise, the Fund has also sponsored 60 lecturers for Master’s degrees in both foreign and local institutions with a sum of N293,102,460 million while 90 staff have been sponsored for conferences both locally and abroad at a total cost of N111,471,159.50.”
The lawmaker urged the polytechnic to take full advantage of the facilities and make good use of them for the educational and vocational development of the students.
The executive secretary of TETfund, Sonny Echono, said the projects executed between 2021 and 2023 will go a long way to stem the tide of negative influences on the youth population and address security concerns in the polytechnic community.
Echono, represented by the director of Monitoring and Evaluation Department, Mr Babatunde Olajide, said that the projects were thoughtfully prioritised by the polytechnic to address the aforementioned concerns as well as provide requisite infrastructure for the students’ wellbeing.
While commending the polytechnic management and project team for ensuring quality delivery and sticking to terms, Echono appealed that the facilities be put to their proper use and maintained to serve the next generations.
Earlier, Rector of the Polytechnic, Dr Francisca Nwafulugo, described the hostels’ commissioning as a giant step in the institution›s quest to accommodate more of its students within the polytechnic towards enhancing their security and well-being.
She noted that “the hostel buildings made up of 26 rooms each with the capacity of accommodating 208 students altogether are equipped with modern facilities which are tailored to give our students a decent and conducive accommodation space to achieve peak performance academically.
“In addition to these hostels, we also have the School of Environmental Design and Technology Building which is a capital funded project as part of what will be commissioned today.”
Appreciating TETfund for making it possible for an increased number of students to have safe and decent accommodation within the polytechnic, the rector said TETfund had added value to the polytechnic in so many ways.
Meanwhile, the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) has commissioned a N1 billion 2,000 sitting capacity Central Library Complex in the Bauchi state University, Gadau.
Speaking during the commissioning of the project, Arc. Sonny Echono, the Executive Secretary of the fund, said that the project was approved under the Years 2017-2019 merged annual intervention.
Represented by the Director, Monitoring and Evaluation, TETFUND, Mr Olajide Babatunde, the Executive Secretary, said that the university had been a beneficiary of the Fund’s interventions from year 2012 when it became enlisted as a beneficiary of the Fund’s interventions.
According to him, “From year 2012 to date, TETFUND has allocated the sum of N17.3 billion for infrastructure-related interventions only, cutting across the Annual, Special High Impact and Zonal interventions, amongst others.
He added that “With about 97% funds already accessed, we note with delight that these funds are being deployed judiciously in the provision of requisite facilities, which are obviously seen in various locations on the campus here,”
The TETFUND boss then assured that the Fund would continue to ensure that its interventions were sustained and improved upon to enable government-owned tertiary institutions undertake impactful projects that would make them become globally competitive.
In his address, Hon. Bappah Aliyu Misau, Member, House Committee on TETFUND, said the Fund had also sponsored 100 lecturers for Ph.D. in both foreign and local institutions totaling N955 million.
He added that 143 lecturers was also sponsored for Masters Degrees in both foreign and local institutions totaling N359 million, among others.
Also speaking, the Vice Chancellor of the institution, Prof. Fatima Tahir, lauded TETFUND for the ‘milestone’ intervention, adding that the project would help in shaping the future of the institution.
“We must acknowledge the vital role played by TETFUND imaking this dream a tangible reality.
“Their unwavering support both financial and logistically has ensured that we have the resources necessary to provide exceptional learning experience for our students.
“On behalf of our university, I extend our deepest gratitude to the federal government of Nigeria and to TETFUND for their commitment to education and for believing in the transformative power of knowledge,” she said.