The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) is considering the suspension of its foreign scholarship program for academic staff due to challenges in paying foreign tuition fees and stipends. The scarcity of foreign exchange and insufficient allocation of funds are being cited as the main reasons for this potential move.
Mr. Sonny Echono, the Executive Secretary of TETFund, highlighted this concerning development during a One-Day Stakeholders’ Engagement on Emerging Issues with the TETFund Intervention held in Abuja on Wednesday. Echono expressed concern over the ongoing difficulties in securing foreign exchange, which has resulted in the fund’s inability to meet its financial obligations for the foreign scholarship program.
“The scarcity of forex and inadequate allocation of funds have posed significant challenges to our scholarship programs,” Echono stated, shedding light on the dire financial situation that has prompted the organization to consider suspending the foreign segment of the scholarship program.
Echono further revealed that TETFund had recently entered into various Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with prestigious international institutions. These institutions, located in countries such as Malaysia, India, Brazil, France, and the United States, were part of TETFund’s effort to enhance and bolster the Tertiary Staff Training and Development (TSAS) program in the foreseeable future.
The potential suspension of the foreign scholarships highlights the pressing impact of the forex scarcity on Nigeria’s higher education sector. This announcement serves as a call to action for stakeholders to collectively address the challenges posed by limited foreign exchange reserves and funding constraints. As the nation seeks to maintain the quality of education and foster international collaborations, finding solutions to these issues becomes paramount.
