The Executive secretary of Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Arch. Sonny Echono has described the Committee of Vice Chancellors of Nigerian Universities (CVCNU) as a key player in the education sector.
Arc. Echono stated this during a courtesy visit by the CVCNU to the TETFund office in Abuja.
He said, “I want to state that over the years, the Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities has remained a key player in the sector that render advice and promote stability in the university system.
“I crave your indulgence to continue to play this role, and to also look into the current challenges being faced in our universities today with the view of proffering solutions for government and other stakeholders to adopt and restore normalcy in the education sector as well as promote the rebuilding and internationalization of our university system”, he said.
While assuring the Committee of the Fund’s commitment to sustain ongoing reforms in the education sector, with increased emphasis on the content component of its interventions including research and ICT, the Executive Secretary urged other key players including the private sector to be involved in strengthening the system to complement government’s effort.
Speaking on the anti-plagiarism device introduced by CVCNU, Arc. Echono stated that the Fund would continue to partner with the committee to achieve their goals.
He said, “We have existing partnerships, particularly in the digitization of thesis. We are confident that once this is accomplished, it will not only provide open learning resources for researchers and students who want to access previous works done in their respective areas of research but also promote a culture of academic excellence.
“One of the problems of our education today is the quality of our graduates, particularly the quality of thesis. Many students plagiarize other people’s work.
“We believe the anti-plagiarism device you have developed will go a long way in detecting this and ensuring compliance. Indeed, we have adopted a policy in TETFund that going forward, all proposals coming to us must go through your system and receive certification that it has passed a minimum standard that is required and for all publishers and authors before it can benefit from our support Intervention”, Echono added.
Speaking earlier, Chairman, CVCNU and Vice-Chancellor Niger Delta University, Prof. Samuel Edoumiekumo congratulated Arc. Echono on his appointment and pledged the commitment and support of his Committee to the attainment of TETFund’s goals.
While commending the Fund for its role in transforming public tertiary educational institutions in Nigeria, Prof. Edoumiekumo requested for a review of the funding support to beneficiary institutions towards improving capacities of staff and students; building capacity of academic staff for generating content; embarking on professional certifications in current Information and Technology (IT) platforms among others.
