"It Has Become a Major Crisis": 137 Nigerians Sent Abroad on FG's Scholarship Refuse to Return Home
- TETFund Executive Secretary, Sonny Echono, said over 137 Nigerians sponsored abroad by the fund have refused to return to the country
- Echono said the numbers are alarming and have become a major crisis as TETFund cannot continue to operate that way
- He disclosed that TETFund is working with stakeholders on stringent and effective measures to curb the crisis
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FCT, Abuja- The Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Sonny Echono, has cried out after over 137 scholars sponsored abroad refused to return to Nigeria after completing their studies.
Speaking on Tuesday, July 18, before the House of Representatives ad hoc committee, Echono said It had become a major crisis when Nigerians who enjoy scholarships for higher education abroad refuse to return to the country, TheCable reported.
Source: Facebook
“Some of the scholars that have been sponsored unpatriotically when they go, they enjoy our scholarship, acquire a higher degree, then refuse to come back. It has become a major crisis,”
“The scholarship requires that you will come back. It is required that you have a guarantor and in many cases, the guarantor has suffered undue hardship because when you disappear, we hold the guarantor to pay all the money expended on your behalf but that has not been effective.”
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How TETFund plans to checkmate scholars from absconding after studies
Echono disclosed that TETFund is working with stakeholders to ensure scholars return to Nigeria after their studies and repayment for those who refuse to return to Nigeria if they don’t want to be declared persona non grata.
“We believe that in a system where we work with our embassies and the institutions, we can enforce the repayment for those who insist they will not come back,” he said.
“We will write to the embassies and they will make it available to those countries and they will not be able to get jobs. They will be seen as fugitives of law from their countries.”
“We may have to take that hard stand because the numbers are alarming. We just checked about 40 institutions and over 137 absconders and the review is ongoing.
“It is a huge number that we cannot afford and so we will be seeking your support to strengthen some of the existing regulations to ensure that those who benefit from this programme must come back.
“We are not against people looking for greener pastures but do so on your own, not through our scholarship or our sponsorship.”
List of Nigerian universities where TETFund will establish innovation hubs in 2023
Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported that Sonny Echono, the Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), announced at a media conference in Abuja on Thursday, April 13, that innovation hubs will be established in six universities across Nigeria.
Echono stated that the innovation hubs would also be set up in polytechnics and Colleges of Education.
Nigerian universities, polytechnics, colleges of education to get N18bn from TETFund
Sonny Echono also announced that TETFund would disburse N18 billion to six public universities as part of its Special High Impact Intervention.
He provided a breakdown of the recently approved 2023 Intervention Budget of N320 billion by President Muhammadu Buhari during a briefing in Abuja on Thursday, April 13.
According to Echono, six selected universities will receive N3 billion each, while six polytechnics and six Colleges of Education across the country will each receive N1 billion.
UNILAG, UNIJOS, FUTO and 19 other Nigerian varsities bag N5bn grant
In another report, at least 22 Nigerian universities received the disbursement of N5.5 billion in a grant from the Abdul Samad Rabiu Africa initiative.
Each institution got the sum of N250 million under the ASR Africa Tertiary Education Grant Scheme. The social development specialist of ASR Africa, Edidiong Idang, revealed that the scheme was an initiative of the Chairman of BUA Group, Abdul Samad Rabiu.
Source: Legit.ng
