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From Tony John, Port Harcourt
The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) has tasked desk officers of the beneficiary institutions to be fully equipped and knowledgeable about its guidelines and mandate.
Executive Secretary, TETFund, Sonny Echono, gave the charge at a two- day TETFund Desk Officers workshop with the theme: ‘Improving TETFund Intervention Programmes and Processes in Tertiary Institutions’ held in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Tuesday.
Echono, who was represented by TETFund Zonal Coordinator, South-South Zone, Aminu Dumburi, reminded desk officers of various intervention lines, of their significant role in the conception, reconciliation and implementation of the Fund’s programmes and process.
The executive secretary said the workshop was organized to familiarize heads of the institutions and TETFund desk officers with the Fund’s operations, standards, and benchmarks which would enable stakeholders to attain transparency and effectiveness in accessing TETFund interventions.
He told them: “You are the critical interface or intermediary between the Fund, and your chief executives, who are the accounting officers of the intervention allocations. The significance of this workshop can, therefore, not be overemphasized. It becomes even more glaring when we consider the synergy and continuous interaction that is needed between the Fund and your institutions as reflected in the frequency of submissions and communications we have with your institutions on a daily basis.
“I do sincerely hope that the essence of this workshop, which is to engage, dialogue, discuss and challenge us on ways in which we will improve in our operations and smoothen the process of accessing interventions and their implementation by our beneficiary institutions is realised.
According to him, the desk officers are the interface between the beneficiary institutions and the Fund regarding all activities and interventions from the beginning to the end of the project.
Echono continued: “The desk officers are responsible for the day-to-day operations that exist between the Fund and the institutions and are, therefore, positioned strategically to perform tasks and functions that require that they are fully informed on the nature and methods of TETFund operations always. As a result, the desk officers of our institutions are expected to be fully equipped and knowledgeable about our guidelines and mandate.
“This workshop is expected to bridge the gaps that exist between the Fund and our beneficiary institutions regarding our procedures and processes with regards to all our intervention lines.
“There shall be presentations by the departments of the Fund that process and reconcile these intervention lines. These presentations shall update us about new policies or changes in our operations or personnel where necessary.”
Echono expressed: “It is my sincere hope that at the end of the workshop the various heads of our public tertiary institutions and desk officers will be equipped with the knowledge of the relevant guidelines, procedures, and processes of the Fund.”
