Kano State Governor, Abba Yusuf, has appealed to the Tertiary Education Trust Fund’s (TETFund) for more projects intervention in Yusuf Maitama Sule University and Kano University of Science and Technology, Wudil.
The governor made the appeal during a courtesy visit to the Executive Secretary of TETFund, Arc. Sonny Echono, in Abuja.
He said: “The purpose of my coming (to TETFund) is to ensure continued collaboration between Kano government and TETFund in terms of projects and other educational assistance to these two universities (Yusuf Maitama Sule University and Kano University of Science and Technology, Wudil), of course, my predecessor established the third university in the state but as far we are concerned, these two universities are close to our heart,” Governor Yusuf said.
While commending TETFund for its various infrastructure projects in tertiary institutions across the country, the governor called for TETFund’s support in the areas of provision of more facilities, training and retraining of staff as well as flood control in Kano University of Science and Technology, Wudil.
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“Specifically I am more interested in infrastructure development, because if you do not have classrooms, you don’t have hostels, you don’t have libraries or facilities then the entire system will collapse, so the most important thing as far as university or any other tertiary education institution is concerned is to ensure the provision of infrastructures,” he said.
He however, noted that most universities in the country would not be where they are in terms of educational facilities without the support of TETFund.
On his part, the TETFund’s Executive Secretary said the Fund was ready to partner with Kano government to improve on the fortunes of tertiary education institutions in the state.
Echono, clarifying the governor’s request for the two universities instead of the whole three owned by the state government, said TETFund’s Board of Trustees, has put a limit on number of institutions the Fund can intervene in a state.
He said: “TETFund intervenes in three institutions within a state; that is the universities, polytechnics and colleges of education. The Board of Trustees, in order to ensure we concentrate resources and achieve meaningful impact, placed limitations on number of institutions.
“So, we do not encourage states to just establish multiple institutions with only intention of targeting TETFund intervention. It actually enlist two of similar type of institutions at a time, and even when we enlist two institutions at a time, what I mean is either two universities or two polytechnics or two of colleges of education,” he said.