The Tertiary Education Trust Fund, TETFund, says it has earmarked N1 billion for hostels construction in 12 institutions under the Fund’s 2024 intervention cycle.
The Executive Secretary of the Fund, Sonny Echono, disclosed
this at a One-Day Workshop on ‘Emerging Areas of Students Needs in Beneficiary
Institutions’, in Abuja on Tuesday.
Mr Echono said the 12 institutions (six universities, three
Polytechnics, and three Colleges of Education), across the six geopolitical
zones, were identified and selected to benefit from the ₦1 billion allocation.
He said the money would be utilised as equity contribution
in partnership with private developers to construct hostels in the selected
institutions.
“I am pleased to inform you that the Africa Plus Partners,
in partnership with Akwa Ibom State University, will launch the construction of
a 1, 600 capacity students hostel through the support of TETFund on May 15,” he
said.
Mr Echono said that the Fund was taking a closer look into
some of the age-old problems facing many institutions, including students
accommodation.
“Many of our students are either congested in the
dormitories across campuses or living and studying outside the school
environment.
“The existing hostels are not only grossly inadequate but
most of them are in deplorable conditions especially with regard to functional
utility and sanitation.
“This, definitely, will affect the performance and wellbeing
of these students,” he said.
Mr Echono noted that, in the face of scarce resources, the
government had tried over the years to build student hostels across the
country.
He said government appeared overstretched and unable to meet
the ever-increasing number of students enrolling into the various institutions
annually.
“As a result of this, we have at several fora advocated the
consideration and involvement of the private sector under a Public Private
Partnership (PPP) arrangement to provide solutions to the student accommodation
crises across institutions,” he said.
He added that the repositioning of the teaching profession
and the teaching practice intervention that the Fund had consistently made
available to supervisors, was another area of concern of the Fund.
According to him, teaching practice provides experiences to
supervisors and student teachers in-real time in the teaching environment and
provides an opportunity for supervisors and student-teachers to practice the
art of teaching before they become real teachers.
“This helps to perfect their ability and potentials in
pedagogy. It enables supervisors and student-teachers to discover their
weaknesses and strengths in the classroom and provides the opportunity to hone
and improve their abilities.
”Teaching practice enables supervisors and student-teachers
to develop positive attitude towards the teaching profession among several
other important reasons.
“This is why the teaching practice intervention has remained
a relevant intervention area of the Fund,” he said.
He disclosed that the Fund recently received a communication
from the Federal Ministry of Education regarding the Presidential directive to
TETFund on the support of teaching practice.
According to him, the communication also contained the
recommendations of the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission
regarding the teaching practice allowances.
He, therefore, stressed the need to rework the teaching practice funding template
currently in use, in line with the communication.