Follow Us on Google
From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) has complained about poor utilisation of ICT infrastructures worth billions of Naira installed in various tertiary institutions across the country by TETFund.
Executive Secretary of TETFund, Sonny Echono, registered the concerns at a two-day workshop on blackboard/TERAS adoption and usage in beneficiary institutions, organized by TETFund for Registrars, Bursars, Directors of Academic Planning and ICT and Thesis Project Repository Managers of beneficiary institutions, in Abuja, yesterday.
He challenged the institutions to put the infrastructures to use by urgently embracing technology in teaching, research, and administration.
He said despite TETFund’s early investment in digital learning platforms such as the Tertiary Education, Research, Applications and Services (TERAS), many universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education were still lagging behind in ICT adoption.
Echono said: “Nigeria’s rapidly growing population and limited availability of classrooms make technology the only viable pathway to expanding access to quality education.
“We are no longer confined to the four walls of classrooms. With just an android phone or a device, students should be able to access content, participate in learning, and acquire skills. There is no alternative to technology if we must prepare our youths for the opportunities ahead.”
Other News
The TETFund boss stressed that robust and regularly updated institutional websites should be a minimum requirement in the digital age, describing many schools’ online presence as “embarrassingly outdated.”
Echono also cited the successes recorded during the COVID-19 lockdown when TETFund partnered states, the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) and radio stations to broadcast WAEC syllabus-based lessons. “That year produced one of Nigeria’s best WAEC results, indicating the potential of technology to revolutionise learning.”
TETFund’s Director of ICT, Mr. Joseph Odo, said interactive sessions at the workshop were designed to deepen understanding of the Fund’s digital platforms and improve collaboration among beneficiary institutions.
“This is part of our engagements with key stakeholders, registrars, librarians, ICT directors, repository managers, and academic planners, to ensure that everyone understands the interventions we are providing. The world is moving fast technology-wise, and we can not afford to be left behind.”
Odo explained that the sessions, which will hold across all six geopolitical zones, are focused on strengthening the use of TETFund-funded learning platforms, which aggregate data for planning and improve teaching, research, and learning outcomes.
He added that TERAS is evolving into “an educational lifestyle” that caters to students, lecturers, administrators, and even government planners.
