The Tertiary Education Trust Fund has ruled out including private universities in its intervention fund and programmes.
“They have the right to demand it, and we as Nigerians can look and see the objectivity. But a private institution is a private organisation. They are meant to generate profit and to make more money.
“So, if I establish a manufacturing company and the road to my factory is bad, will I ask TETFund to come and fix it because I pay taxes? Will I say that because I have an oil station, then the government should come and fix the road, because I pay taxes? That would make a mockery of the whole situation.
“You set up your own industry where you have interest, and you claimed to have funding for the institution before you set up and not TETFund to come fund you,” said Adeyemi Adepoju, a member of the TETFund board of trustees, representing the South-West.
Mr Adepoju, who spoke at the inauguration of TETFund-sponsored projects at Rufus Giwa Polytechnic Owo in Ondo, as part of activities to mark the school’s 12th-23rd convocation ceremonies, said including private universities in the TETFund would make a “mockery of the whole system”, which had been built with integrity.
He argued that private universities are profit-driven ventures established by individuals with the capacity to fund their operations, stressing that they cannot be entitled to government intervention funds through TETFund.
Mr Adepoju maintained that including private universities among TETFund beneficiaries was impracticable, given their number and commercial orientation.
“Do you know how many private institutions we have in this country? Even if we agree to do it, how many are we going to fund? It’s not possible. Let them look for ways of generating their revenue and run their institution as it is supposed to be,” he said. “They should find ways to generate their own revenue and run their schools as expected.”
The newly inaugurated facilities include the Faculty of Applied Sciences Building and the Faculty of Engineering Technology Building, among others, constructed with TETFund support.
The polytechnic’s acting rector, Adegun Olorunwa, commended TETFund for its role in the institution’s development since it became a beneficiary in 2011.
