From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
The Federal Government said it has concluded plans to construct state-of-the-art hostels in 36 different tertiary institutions across the country as a part of its effort to solve the problem of insufficient accommodation in campuses.
Executive Secretary, Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Sonny Echono, disclosed this when the leadership of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), paid him a courtesy visit in Abuja.
Echono also hinted that the Fund was working on providing free internet for students in both public and private tertiary institutions across the country, introducing the students to Tertiary Education Research, Applications, and Services (TERAS), a digital service platform designed by the Fund to address critical challenges faced by students, researchers, and institutions in accessing educational resources and research materials.
He said: “Students are at the centre of our interventions in the institutions. So, we will continue to support and partner with NANS in all our interventions. President has directed that we give more attention to students not just words, but in deeds, and we have two specific programmes that we are starting this year to demonstrate that.
“The first is the physical infrastructure side. This year, we would be providing hostels for students in 36 tertiary institutions across the country, because we realised that most places that students live are so deplorable, and only about 15 percent of students stay in campus. We want to ensure that at least, 50-60 percent of our students live in campus.
“In today’s world, knowledge has changed and the delivery systems have changed too. Years ago, knowledge was about one all knowing lecturer standing in front of a class, dishing out information. All of that has changed because in the digital age, all source of information and data you required are already on the internet. Teachers are now facilitators and if you want to help students, grant them access to the internet, make it free.”
NANS President Lucky Emonefe, in his remarks, noted that the essence of the visit was to appreciate the TETFund boss for his support and commitment to the realisation of the Students Loan Scheme.
He assured the Fund of the support of Nigerian students as it strive to ensure that education infrastructure is in place to compete with other nations.