Tinubu Urges TETFund to Bolster Support for Teaching Practice Funding

• TETFund received a presidential directive to enhance support for teaching practice initiatives, including teaching practice allowances for Faculties of Education
• Collaborative efforts are needed to revise teaching practice funding frameworks, ensuring harmonization with recommendations from the National Salaries Commission

Arch Sonny Echono, the Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), has revealed that the Fund recently received a directive from the President to enhance support for teaching practice initiatives.

Addressing attendees at a workshop themed “Emerging Areas of Students Needs in Beneficiary Institutions” in Abuja on Tuesday, Echono disclosed that the directive also included recommendations from the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission regarding teaching practice allowances, now encompassing Faculties of Education in universities.

Echono emphasized the necessity for collaborative brainstorming to actualize the Presidential directive, suggesting a potential revision of the existing teaching practice funding framework. He noted disparities between the computation methodologies employed by TETFund and the Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, stressing the importance of harmonization for mutual acceptance.

Acknowledging the government’s directive, Echono affirmed TETFund’s commitment to comply with and implement its contents to enhance the appeal of the teaching profession, particularly for student teachers and Faculties of Education.

Furthermore, he highlighted the workshop’s broader agenda, encompassing vital ICT programs and hostel development initiatives through Public Private Partnership models. Echono underscored the significance of embracing information and communications technology in modern education systems to remain competitive globally, citing TETFund’s endeavours, notably the Tertiary Education Research, Application, and Services platform (TERAS).

Anderson Ezeibe, the National President of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), echoed the importance of establishing robust monitoring mechanisms at institutional levels to ensure optimal utilization of TETFund resources. He emphasized the need for tangible impacts in the education sector beyond mere intervention lines, stressing the importance of effective monitoring platforms to maximize value for money.

Ezeibe commended TETFund’s efforts in sponsoring infrastructural developments, scholarships, and training programs locally and abroad while advocating for strengthened monitoring frameworks to amplify the Fund’s impact in tertiary institutions.