TETFund partners REA to energise varsities

The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) has said it will partner with the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) to provide power supply to public universities.

The fund said it was working in 27 universities, including Bayero University, Kano (BUK) and Kwara State University, Malete, to provide power through solar mini-grids.

The Chairman, Board of Trustees of TETFund, Alhaji Kashim Imam, stated this after a tour of the 250 kilowatts (kw) solar facility in Kwara State University.

In a statement from TETFund, Alhaji Imam said despite beginning with a few universities, the fund would extend it to all public universities.

The management of Kwara State University called for more funding to expand the project in 2021. Its Deputy Vice Chancellor, Prof. Mahmud Saka, appreciated TETFund for the multiple intervention, adding that many projects had been completed and more were being constructed.

He said the university was number one in offering aeronautical engineering in Nigeria, and therefore noted that there was need for the fund’s support to acquire equipment.

The TETFund team also monitored projects at the Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin, where it is funding the construction of its N1bn Institute of Technology and other projects.

At the University of Ilorin, Imam noted that, “Virtually all the faculty buildings were constructed by TETFund.”