By: Amos Aar
The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) Guidelines for Accessing Funds for Academic Staff Training and Development (AST&D) Programme have provided fresh insight into the ongoing controversy surrounding the overseas PhD sponsorship of Benue State Polytechnic lecturer, Mr. Audu Igbabee, and the institution’s handling of the programme.
The guidelines, obtained by SkyNewsLink, outline the obligations of beneficiary institutions and sponsored scholars, including eligibility requirements, duration of study, funding arrangements and reporting responsibilities.
The provisions have become significant following Benue State Polytechnic’s explanation of the circumstances surrounding Mr. Igbabee’s sponsorship after the Benue State House of Assembly made findings on the matter.
According to the guidelines, the Academic Staff Training and Development (AST&D) Programme was established to support public tertiary institutions by sponsoring full-time academic staff for Master’s and Doctorate degree programmes in Nigeria and abroad as part of efforts to strengthen teaching, research and institutional capacity.
To qualify for sponsorship, a nominee must be a full-time confirmed academic staff member nominated by a beneficiary institution and must have secured admission into an approved full-time programme. The guidelines expressly exclude online and part-time Master’s and PhD programmes from TETFund sponsorship.
The document also places conditions on foreign scholarships, requiring beneficiaries to study in highly ranked universities approved under the Fund’s criteria.
It further states that a scholar is not permitted to change either the institution or course of study after the scholarship has been awarded, warning that anyone who does so could be required to refund the scholarship and may be barred from future TETFund support.
On funding, the guidelines provide that foreign PhD scholars are entitled to full sponsorship covering tuition, living expenses, health insurance, educational materials, research costs and other approved expenses. While tuition fees are paid directly by TETFund to the foreign university, living allowances are released through the beneficiary institution.
The guidelines also require that approval must be obtained from TETFund before any sponsored programme commences, adding that the Fund will not entertain requests for reimbursement of expenses incurred without its prior approval.
One of the provisions attracting attention in the Benue State Polytechnic case is the guideline that TETFund-sponsored PhD programmes should not exceed three years. The document also requires beneficiary institutions to submit annual progress reports on each sponsored scholar, warning that failure to do so could affect subsequent disbursement of funds.
The provision comes against the backdrop of the Polytechnic’s explanation that Mr. Igbabee took an “indefinite deferment” during his doctoral programme, an issue the management said influenced subsequent developments in the sponsorship.
Although the TETFund guidelines do not specifically address the circumstances of the Benue State Polytechnic dispute, they provide the regulatory framework governing the administration of academic staff sponsorships and the responsibilities of both beneficiary institutions and scholars.
The controversy has drawn public attention following the Benue State House of Assembly’s review of the matter and the Polytechnic’s subsequent response, with stakeholders expected to look to the TETFund guidelines in assessing compliance with the conditions governing the scholarship programme.(Sky News Link)
