About 2,253 textbooks made up of 12 titles, sponsored by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) have been distributed to public federal and state colleges of education in Nigeria.
Speaking at the distribution during the 25th Conference of the Nigerian Academy of Education (NAE), in Abuja, the Executive Secretary of TETFund, Sonny Echono said the Fund would continue to support the production of vital textbooks for use in public tertiary institutions.
The conference recorded that the books were written by scholars of the NAE.
Partnership With NAE
Echono also stated that TETFund would sustain the partnership with the NAE, describing the academy as the mother of all academics in the country whose members have been at the forefront of pursuing the dissemination and spread of knowledge and development of skills in children.
“TETFund is proud to associate with the mother of all academics, the Nigerian Academy of Education has been at the forefront of pursuing the dissemination, spread of knowledge, development of skill and the holding of it amongst our children, and for generations they have been doing this,” he said.
The Executive Secretary noted that books are important asset for a country’s growth and a catalyst for mental growth and social integration.
“Books are the bedrock of all learning whether in digital or hard format, books play a very important role as reference materials for scholars, students and all who seek knowledge,” he said.
More Support For Production
The Executive Secretary of the National Commission for Colleges of Education, Prof. Paulinus Okwelle while appreciating TETFund for the books called for the inclusion of Private colleges of Education as beneficiaries to improve their libraries.
“I want to appreciate TETFund for the much they are doing in both human and capacity building and infrastructure. I want to make a request if you don’t mind, next time let us include some of these private colleges of education, we are all producing the same NCE, in any way, we can to assist them by enriching their libraries so that they will not have issues when we go for accreditation,” he said.
In his remark, the Chairman, Committee of Provost Colleges of Education, Professor Farouk Haruna, urged TETFund to sustain the efforts of supporting local production of textbooks by Nigerian scholars.
Professor Haruna said that books are at the heart of colleges of education.
The President of the NAE, Prof. Kabiru Isyaku said the group serves as a forum for Nigerian educationists at the highest level, whose opinion on education commands professional authority and respect.
He explained that the academy strives to improve the quality of education throughout the country by taking the initiative to express views on plans, programmes, policies and practices in education.
PIAK
