BY SIMON EBEGBULEM

BENIN—THE Chairman, Board of Trustees, Tertiary Education Trust Fund, TETFUND, Dr. Musa Babayo, yesterday, lamented that tertiary institutions in the country have failed to access billions of naira from the Fund over the years due to improper documentation of proposals and incomplete renditions of returns on the part of beneficiaries.

He called for guidelines that will be agreeable to all parties, which according to him would help for easy access of the funds so as to accelerate development in universities and polytechnics in the country.

Babayo, represented by a member of Board of Trustees of the fund, Mr. Richard Anetekhai, spoke in Benin City, Edo State, yesterday, during a workshop on guidelines for accessing intervention funds organised for heads of universities and polytechnics in the South- South by TETFUND.

Describing as unacceptable, the difficulties being encountered by tertiary institutions in accessing the funds, Babayo pointed out that the management had been directed to study all the processes developed over time with a view to harmonising and streamlining them into one concise set of guidelines to be presented in booklet form.

He said: “We expect that these guidelines will promote the achievement of the desired results through ensuring effective rendition of returns by beneficiaries and thus bring efficiency and a more sustainable way of reducing the high level of un-accessed funds.”

Also speaking, the Executive Secretary, Education Trust Fund, Prof. Suleiman Bogoro, who was represented by Mr. Steve Ohue, said that the purpose of the workshop was to sensitise stakeholders on the need to comply with the Public Procurement Act 2007 and to also reach a consensus on the best way the funds can be easily accessed.