Government establishes 12 research ‘centres of excellence’

Premium Times 30 May 2020

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the establishment of the first set of 12 Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) ‘centres of excellence’, two in each of the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria, writes Azeezat Adedigba for Premium Times.

The first set of the institutions, which will focus on research in science-based disciplines, will be hosted by federal universities. The director for physical infrastructure development at TETFund, Buhari Mikailu, said in a statement that those in state universities, polytechnics and colleges of education will follow in subsequent years.

“The focus areas of the centres of excellence, in line with contemporary practice in the more competitive economies and technologies, are mainly in science-based disciplines,” he said. “The approval … is to signify a major paradigm shift in favour of research and excellence in our universities, but also demonstrate that [the] federal government has decided to directly establish and fund centres of excellence besides the ones funded by the World Bank, being the African Centres of Excellence,” he said.
Full report on the Premium Times Nigeria site

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