The Board of Trustees of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) has approved the suspension of the foreign component of the TETFund Scholarship for Academic Staff (TSAS) intervention with effect from January 1, 2025.

This was contained in a statement issued by the TETFund Director of Public Affairs, Abdulmumin Oniyangi, on Thursday, November 28, 2024.

Oniyangi said the suspension of the scholarship for lecturers was in response to the excessive cost of training in foreign institutions as well as the high rate of abscondment of foreign scholars.

Oniyangi, however, said the TETFund scholars who have already enrolled in foreign institutions would continue to draw down on their scholarships till the end of their programmes.

He stated: “It is expected that the suspension will conserve and reduce the pressure on foreign exchange rate, boost investment and local capacity in Nigerian tertiary educational institutions and significantly increase the number of beneficiaries of the intervention.

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“To this end, TETFund in collaboration with the National Universities Commission (NUC) has intensified efforts in the implementation of the Trans-national Education Guidelines recently approved by President Bola Tinubu.”

The TETFund spokesman added that under the scheme, top-ranking institutions from the United Kingdom, United States, Malaysia, and Brazil, among others, would be encouraged to mount programmes in partnership with Nigerian institutions.

He said this is in a bid to offer the same standard and quality of courses that are obtainable in their home institutions.

Oniyangi added that beneficiary institutions of TETFund had been advised to prioritise their training needs for implementation in Nigerian institutions and ensure strict compliance.

The Star