Gov. Dauda Lawal of Zamfara, has appealed to the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) to increase its level of intervention to the state-owned tertiary institutions.
Lawal who made the appeal on Thursday in Abuja, when he paid a courtesy visit to the Executive Secretary of TETFund, Mr Sonny Echono, added the intervention would boost infrastructure development of the schools.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports TETFUND, is a scheme established in 2011 by the Federal Government to disburse, manage, and monitor education tax to government-owned tertiary institutions in Nigeria.
The governor said that the appeal followed his declaration of state-of-emergency in the education sector in Zamfara, and the lack of financial muscle to address the needed reform in the sector.
He said the sought support from TETFund was to urgently complete some of the abandoned projects, especially at the state-owned University, to expand access to university education for students in the state.
“I came to say thank you to TETFUND, but at the same time to ask for more interventions, considering the financial situation of the state.
“Remember, sometimes in November, last year, we declared emergency in the education sector.
“That is why I’m here to continue to follow up on wherever we can get help, so that things will be better in Zamfara,” he said.
Speaking on the security situation in the state, Lawal said security had become a major challenge.
He, however, assured of the state government’s readiness to combat it.
Responding, Echono assured that TETFund would continue with equitable distribution of funds to institutions nationwide as part of its statutory mandates.
He noted that much was going into Zamfara in spite of the security challenges in the state.
Echono assured that the fund would continue to ensure that every part of the country and every student across the country have access to quality education.
“The Governor came on appreciation visit, because we are doing a lot, despite the security challenges in Zamfara..
“He came with very specific request, especially as it relates to state institutions. Zamfara like any other states is one of the beneficiaries of our High-Impact projects.
“And he was canvassing for us to complete some already ongoing projects, because they are having funding challenges,” Echono said.
The TETFund boss explained that some specifics had to be worked out before the Fund could do anything about the identified abandoned projects in the state.
(NAN)