The Federal Government on Tuesday announced an increase of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) research grants to universities and other tertiary institutions to N8.5 billion, up from the N7.5 billion is provided in 2020.
The Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, who announced the increment while declaring open the first National Conference on Research, Training and Development in Zaria, noted that in 2019, the grants totalled N5 billion.
The conference, which has “Research, Training and Development in Nigeria’s Educational System in the 21st Century: Challenges and Way Forward” as its theme, was organised by the Institute of Education, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (ABU).
The minister, who was represented by the Executive Secretary, Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Prof. Suleiman Bogoro, commended President Muhammadu Buhari for doing a lot in the area of education.
He added that the Federal Government had decided to raise its budgetary allocation to the education sector by 50 per cent in next year’s budget, with a view to addressing the funding challenges facing the sector.
Adamu underscored the global importance of research in any academic community, saying that the number of academic publications was not enough, as what mattered most was the number of research grants one attracted to his or her university as a professor or senior academic officer.
He congratulated ABU for winning a total of 12 research grants in 2020 from the TETFund, as against the five it won in 2019.
“I am really happy that things are gradually changing in ABU. As one of the first generation universities in Nigeria, ABU should not take the rear seat in the area of research and other academic activities,” he said.
The minister recalled with nostalgia some of the vibrant intellectual activities organised by students that attracted many to ABU, citing the popular Moot Court at the Faculty of Law and the Mock Summit at the Department of Political Science and International Studies as examples.
Adamu, however, noted with dismay, that those epoch-making events by students had ceased to exist in recent years, adding, however, that they were beginning to pick up under the leadership of Prof. Kabiru Bala as ABU’s Vice-Chancellor.
Earlier, Bala stressed the importance of research in national development, saying that this was what prompted the Institute of Education to organise the annual national conference on research, training and development.
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