During a visit to the Executive Secretary of TETFund, Sonny Echono, Governor Abba Yusuf of Kano State advocated for increased intervention projects from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund at Yusuf Maitama Sule University and Kano University of Science and Technology in Wudil.
The governor emphasized the importance of fostering a strong collaboration between the Kano government and the fund to enhance educational standards.
“The purpose of my visit is to ensure continued collaboration between the Kano government and TETFund in terms of projects and other educational assistance to these two universities.
“Of course, my predecessor established the third university in the state but as far we are concerned, these two universities are closed to our heart,” he said.
The governor praised TETFund for its commendable efforts in implementing infrastructure projects in tertiary institutions nationwide.
Furthermore, he specifically appealed to TETFund for assistance in the areas of expanding facilities, staff training and retraining, as well as implementing flood control measures at Kano University of Science and Technology, Wudil.
“Firstly, we are here to thank the management for those intervention programmes and projects being executed in the two universities.
“Specifically I am more interested in infrastructure development, why because if you do not have classrooms, you don’t have hostels, you don’t have libraries or facilities then the entire system will collapse.
“So the most important thing as far as university or any other tertiary education institution is concerned is to ensure the provision of infrastructures.
“If you look at most universities in the country, without the support of TETFund they won’t be where they are today in terms of educational facilities.
“Number two, I am more concerned about the training and retraining of the staff of the universities. TETFund has been assisting in areas of training and retraining,” the governor said.
In the meantime, Sonny Echono, the Executive Secretary of TETFund, extended congratulations to Governor Yusuf on his victory in the March 2023 gubernatorial election.
Echono expressed the fund’s readiness to collaborate with the government in enhancing the progress of tertiary education institutions within the state.
Furthermore, Echono highlighted Kano as not only a hub of commerce but also a center of learning, boasting over a dozen universities in the region.
“TETFund intervenes in three institutions within a state; that is the universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education.
“The board of Trustees, in order to ensure we concentrate resources and achieve meaningful impact, placed limitations on a number of institutions.
“So, we do not encourage states to just establish multiple institutions with only the intention of targeting TETFund intervention.
“It actually enlists two similar types of institutions at a time, and even when we enlist two institutions at a time, what I mean is either two universities or two polytechnics or two colleges of education.
“In order, to meet the provision of our law that talks about equality of states, to ensure we do not favour one particular state over the order. States that have more than one institution, actually, alternate them,” he said.
