TETFund halts foreign scholarships for academic staff

The foreign component of the TETFund Scholarship for Academic Staff (TSAS) Intervention has been approved by the Board of Trustees of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) to be suspended, effective January 1, 2025.

Abdulmumin Oniyangi, the fund’s head of public affairs, provided media in Abuja with a statement on Thursday that included this information.

The high rate of foreign scholar absconding and the exorbitant expense of training in foreign institutions, according to Mr. Oniyangi, were the reasons for the suspension.

He, however, said the TETFund scholars who have already enrolled in foreign institutions would continue to draw down on their scholarships till the end of their programmes.

“It is expected that the suspension will conserve and reduce the pressure on foreign exchange rate, boost investment and local capacity in Nigerian tertiary educational institutions and significantly increase the number of beneficiaries of the intervention.

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“To this end, TETFund in collaboration with the National Universities Commission (NUC) has intensified efforts in the implementation of the Trans-national Education Guidelines recently approved by President Bola Tinubu,” he said.

He added that under the scheme, top ranking institutions from the United Kingdom, United States of America, Malaysia, Brazil, etc. would be encouraged to mount programmes in partnership with Nigerian institutions.

He said this is in a bid to offer the same standard and quality of courses that are obtainable in their home institutions.

He added that beneficiary institutions of TETFund had been advised to prioritise their training needs for implementation in Nigerian institutions and ensure strict compliance.