OOU VC Urges FG To Sustain TETFund Amid Concerns Over NELFUND’s Emergence

The Vice-Chancellor of Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago-Iwoye, Prof. Ayodeji Agboola, has made a passionate appeal for the continued existence and adequate funding of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), describing it as essential to the growth and sustainability of tertiary education in Nigeria.

Prof. Agboola made the call on Thursday during a familiarization and project inspection visit by Sunday Adepoju, Chairman of the South-West Zone of TETFund’s Board of Trustees, who led a delegation to the university.

He cautioned against any move to scrap or underfund TETFund due to the establishment of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), stressing that both agencies should “run simultaneously rather than allowing one to kill the other.”

“I want to say that without TETFund, maybe many universities would not be in existence. TETFund has been very significant in virtually all the development of this university; they also train academic staff for their PhDs,” the VC stated.

“I’m one of the beneficiaries of TETFund because my PhD was sponsored by TETFund at the University of Nottingham.”

He added that “a couple of our colleagues make use of TETFund for conference attendance and training. Virtually all the buildings we have in all our satellite campuses, if you take away the philanthropists and the alumni donations, the rest are TETFund and Needs Assessment.”

Prof. Agboola warned that diverting TETFund resources to NELFUND would create new challenges: “If you give more money to NELFUND for student loans and the student does not have anywhere to sit, it would be another kettle of fish.”

Using OOU as an example, he said, “In this University, you can have 35,000 students applying every year, and there is only a quota of 7,000.”

“Most of the teaching aids that we have come from interventions from TETFund. So, if the government decides to reduce the funds being allocated to TETFund and give them to NELFUND, I think the government needs to look at it again.”

He emphasized that “no nation will develop better than the products of its universities. If we bring more students into the university and there are no facilities, it won’t be a good development. So, it will be better for us to have the two agencies simultaneously.”

Prof. Agboola affirmed that OOU had judiciously utilized TETFund allocations and appealed for even greater intervention. He also called on the federal government to reconsider its decision to cancel overseas training for Nigerian scholars, highlighting the importance of global exposure in academic development.

In response, Sunday Adepoju commended OOU for its prudent use of TETFund resources, noting the absence of abandoned projects or unaccessed funds in the institution.

“We have come, we have seen, and we will make our informed decision. With what we have seen so far, TETFund has done great things for you in this university, and you are making effective use of the physical infrastructure given to you. We are very pleased, and if there is an opportunity for TETFund to do more, it will be done,” he said.

“You have shown that taxpayers’ money is being put to use, and by the grace of God, it will be the beginning of more to come from TETFund.”

Adepoju praised the university’s leadership, noting, “I am happy that you are not having any abandoned projects and you are not having any unaccessed funds. That shows the quality of the management this university has. As we have been told, some managements of institutions delay the payment of money to contractors, thereby causing inflation to the projects. That has not been the case in OOU.”