The Executive Secretary Tertiary Education Fund, TetFund, Sonny Echono has reiterated the need for Desk Officers in the institution to promote skills and deepen research to be more impactful to the public.
Mr. Echono made this known in Lagos State, Southwest Nigeria, during a two day workshop for desk officers on TETFund Intervention Programmes in Beneficiary Institutions.
The training was to engage, dialogue and challenge the Desk Officers on ways to improve their operations, especially the process of accessing interventions and implementation by their beneficiary institutions.
Mr. Echono urged the officers to familiarise with the day-to-day operations that exist between the Fund and the institutions by promoting skills and research as demanded by the Minister of education.
‘‘The new Minister of Education wants us to deepen research and make it more impactful and promote skills across the board. We can only achieve this if we all commit to ensuring that the limited resources available are prudently and judiciously deployed,’’ he said.
The TetFund boss who described Desk Officers as the interface between the beneficiary institutions and the Fund expressed the need for them to continue to improve on their efficiency, timeline and relevance of their interventions.
‘‘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. As a result, the Desk Officers of our institutions are expected to be fully equipped and knowledgeable about our guidelines and mandate,” he stated.
One of the participants and the Provost of the Federal College of Education Oyo, Dr. Ademola Salami lauded Tetfund for the training saying “it will make educational institutions in the country fare better.”
He said; ‘‘This workshop is just to sensitize us on some of the interventions provided by TETFund. From this interaction, we are better informed on what each intervention stands for and how we can access it. It will definitely make our institutions look better.’’
The workshop which was organised for Desk Officers from the South West Zone has its theme ‘Improving TETFund Intervention Programmes and processes in Beneficiary Institutions.
Mercy Chukwudiebere
