On Thursday, June 3 2021, the Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND), Professor Suleiman Elias Bogoro, FAS, delivered the annual lecture of the School of Postgraduate Studies of the 2019/2020 Academic Session.
Titled “Funding Postgraduate Education and Research in Nigerian Universities”, the lecture was delivered at the J.F. Ade-Ajayi Auditorium to a receptive audience of postgraduate students, staff and management officers of the University of Lagos.
Professor Bogoro advocated that research should be daring and innovative, and should be geared towards solving real development issues. He re-emphasised his conviction in the centrality of research and innovation to national development, hence the imperative of timely and substantial funding.
“The traditional appropriation funding window for our public universities have failed our nation”, he said. “Out-of-the-box innovative option of funding therefore remains only option for our public universities”.
Professor Bogoro informed the audience that under his watch, TETFUND support to beneficiary institution have increased tremendously. Research funding under the Institution-Based Research (IBR) and National Research Fund (NRF) have increased by 400% and 300% respectively since 2019. This, he said, “has raised the appetite for research in our public universities more than has been witnessed in the last 30 years”.
He singled out the University of Lagos for praise in this regard, and commended the leadership of the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, FAS, for facilitating the growth.
The event was chaired by Engineer Ernest Ndukwe, OFR, Chairman of MTN Communication Nigeria Ltd.
