Guideline

  TETFund Scholarship for Academic Staff (TSAS)

The following guidelines should be adhered to by all beneficiary institutions as well as prospective TETFund scholars.:

1. Programmes supported under the TSAS
2. Beneficiary institutions should only recommend scholars for sponsorship to study for a Master degree (MA, MEd, MSc etc.) or doctorate degree (PhD, DSc, DLitt. etc) at home or abroad;.

Beneficiary Institutions may recommend for sponsorship, a scholar pursuing a doctorate degree in Nigeria, to travel aboard for bench work for a period not exceeding twelve (12) months and not less than three (3) months provided the programme is science-based

iii.        On no account should beneficiary Institutions make recommendations for online or part-time Masters and PhD degree programmes.

1. Choice of Universities under the ASTD
   i. All applicants seeking for sponsorship to study at home (in Nigeria) must     note that:.

               a. Only Universities with National Universities Commission (NUC) approved graduate courses would be accepted in Nigeria;

               b. Scholars would not be sponsored if they are to study at the University where they also work.  Inbreeding will not be supported;

 

1. All applicants seeking for sponsorship to study abroad must note that:
2. Public fund would only be expended to train Nigerian scholars in Universities around the world;
3. Scholars should seek for admission in countries that have Universities ahead of the best university in Nigeria at any point in time;
4. In those countries, scholars should be guided by the University league tables of the countries to ensure that they are seeking for placement in the top-of-the-league Universities.
5. Change of Institution or course of study after the award of scholarship is not permissible.  Scholars found to have changed their course or Institution of study would be asked to refund the scholarship and be barred from enjoying the Fund’s support.

 

The AST&D allocation should be disbursed as follows:

1. A maximum of 30% of allocation is to be spent on Postdoctoral Fellowship;
2. A maximum of 30% of allocation is to be spent on foreign scholarship;
3. At least 30% of the allocation is to be spent on sponsoring scholars in Nigerian Universities.
4. A maximum of 10% of the allocation is to be spent on bench work;

In addition, local sponsorship for Ph.D in Science based discipline is N1,500,000.00 per annum while other discipline is N1,200,000.00 per annum. In the same vein, the sponsorship for Masters degree for science based disciplines is N1,500,000.00 while other discipline is N1,200,000.00.

 

 

1. Eligibility
   To be eligible for TETFund scholarship under its TSAS intervention a nominee must:

   i. Be a full-time Nigerian Academic Staff, working at  and nominated by a beneficiary Institution;
    ii.        Have secured admission to pursue a full-time programme of study as specified in ‘A’ above in any University that satisfies the guidelines in ‘B’ above;
    iii.       Not be applying to study for a second Masters degree or a second doctorate degree;                               

2. Bebonded by the Institution;
   v.         A nominee for doctorate scholarship who has benefitted from the Fund’s scholarship for Masters degree must have lived the bond period of the Masters degree before  applying to be sponsored for the doctorate study;
   vi         Must not be in receipt of any other scholarship
   vii        Must provide evidence of medical fitness from a Public   Hospital and not Health Centres.         

 

1. The Process

All submissions from beneficiary institutions in respect of recommendation for the utilization of the ASTD intervention must be accompanied by the Minutes of meeting of the relevant selection Committee [TETFund Interventions Implementation Committee or Academic Board Committee or Committee of Deans & Directors]. 

In addition,

1. Applications for scholarship will now be processed for payment enbloc by the Fund at two(2) different times of the year, i.e., May for those commencing their study programme in September and October for those commencing their study programme in January of the New Year;
2. All submissions must be accompanied with supporting documents (Admission Letter, Filled TETFund Nomination Form, Resume` of Applicant, Schedule of fees from the University, Bond Form, Medical Certificate & Bank Details);

• Prospective scholars are specifically required to obtain a tuition fee invoice from their intended training institutions that would state the total amount payable as tuition for the entire duration of study programme and forward this to TETFund with their

1. Admission letters. The invoice should contain the total fee payable for the entire duration of study and NOT for one (1) year only as had been the practice all along.The same invoice should bear the full name of the prospective scholar, and the bank account details of the institution, where the tuition will be paid.
2. The details should include: Total Amount Payable for the Course duration, which must be shown on the invoice, Bank Name, Bank Address, Account Number, Sort Code, ABA Routing No (For USA Institutions)/ SWIFT/BIC Code, IBAN No for Europe and UK Institutions, Transit code (for Canadian Institutions), and IFSC Number for Indian Institutions and other parameters that will easily enable payment of the applicable fees.
3. Any application for scholarship that does not meet this mandatory requirement will not be considered for sponsorship by the Fund.
4.  
5. In addition to the hard copy, submissions must be accompanied by a soft copy in a memory stick (not CD- ROM) prepared in MS-Excel in accordance with the approved template.  Advance soft copy may also be sent to             es@tetfund.gov.ng and ast&ddept@tetfund.gov.ng ;
6. Approval must be sought and obtained from the Fund before any scholar commences a programme.  No request for re-imbursement will be entertained on expenditure incurred by beneficiaries without prior approval by the Fund;
7. All successful nominees for sponsorship would be issued with a scholarship award letter through their institutions with their entitlements , fees and other conditions clearly spelt out there-in

• Requests for variation in the cost of sponsorship will not be entertained after approval has been granted and funds released to the beneficiary institutions;
• On completion of the vetting process, the Fund would communicate approval or otherwise to the beneficiary institution as well as the individual scholars. Thereafter, successful scholars would be paid their living expenses through their institutions who would release them to commence their study fellowship;

1. Beneficiary institutions are reminded of the need to open a domicilliary account for their institutions to ease the administration of funds lodged in it for their foreign-based scholars. Evidence of compliance should be forwarded to TETFund once it has been concluded;
2. Yearly progress reports on each scholar under the scheme should be provided to the Fund by all beneficiary institutions based on the approved reporting template.Failure to submit progress report will affect subsequent disbursements;
3. The tuition fees would be paid directly to the foreign institution by the Fund;

xii.       The living expenses of PhD scholars should be paid to the scholars account on annual basis after receiving satisfactory progress report;

xiii.      All PhD dissertations of successful returnee scholars should be submitted to the Fund by the beneficiary Institution in both soft (pdf format) and hard copies for consideration for publication by the Fund’s Book Development Committee.

xiv.      All submissions for ASTD sponsorship must represent 60% for science and technology based courses, while 40% to represent arts and social science courses;

1. Sponsorship for PhD courses by the Fund is now for a duration of 4 years (Where applicable);

• All Masters programmes should not exceed 2 years in Nigeria and 1 year in Europe . However, Master’s degree programmes in Malaysia, India, Taiwan, Thailand, North America and the United Arab Emirate could be for a maximum of 2 years;
• All prospective scholars who wish to be sponsored by the Fund and who would be commencing their study programmes by September are mandatorily required to submit their applications for sponsorship to the Fund not later than 31^st May and for those commencing studies in January of the new year, applications should have been submitted to the Fund for processing, latest by 31^st