Why we are focused on providing grants for research & development -TETFund
The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), has said that it’s new focus on providing grants for research development activities for tertiary institutions.
prompt the need to create leverages where contemporary challenges in Nigeria would be resolved.
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The intervention agency said that there was too much concentration on research publications, rather than addressing the immediate needs of development.
According to a statement made available to journalists on Saturday, the fund, held a week-long capacity building workshop in Dubai, UAE for researchers drawn from selected universities in Nigeria with the aim to address the immediate needs of development.
This is coming few days after some online platform alleged that lecturers were misappropriating research funds to buy cars, build houses and other frivolities.
Making clarifications, TETFund’s Director of Research and Development, Dr Salihu Bakari, said the story was blown out of proportion and it had no basis on the issues at stake.
According to him, even though there were little infractions, the idea was to advise academicians on appropriate use of the funds, and to create a paradigm shift from the old way of thinking to applied research.
“I won’t call it diversion, there is nothing like diversion anywhere because TETFund by law is supposed to disburse and administer Funds, so there are always guidelines.
“So if there are guidelines for application of monies, anytime we find misapplication or infractions, TETFund will pulse further disbursement and ask the recipient to account for the monies given before, TETFund has done much by producing thousands of P.hd holders including sponsoring so many Industrial Based Researches”, he said.
Bakari added that the workshop was apt hence academics are meant to use their knowledge in bridging gaps hindering developmental initiatives as it concerns all strata of the Nigerian society.
While lamenting that there were many misconceptions regarding the functions of TETFund, as an intervention agency, he said;
“This workshop is meant to set the tone for paradigm shift, TETFund is now moving towards content based intervention in the area of research and development, for too long we have been emphasizing teaching at the expense of research.
” For long universities have been carrying out research for publication and not for development and now government is investing monies in applied research because research should be problem solving, in other words lecturers should be seen at the forefront in diversifying the economy, making sure that the economy is knowledge based, solving our problems through research not with oil alone”.
On his part, former Vice Chancellor of University of Ibadan, Professor Olufemi Bamiro who debunked claims of misappropriation within the academic community, said few isolated cases where some academics have been found wanting, cannot pass for a fair judgement, to say that researchers generally fleece grants given to them.
He corroborated Dr Bakari, saying issuance of grants to academic researchers follows guidelines and due processes before funds can be released one hundred percent.
