TETFund, ATBU To Enhance North-East Lecturers’ Research Writing Skills
The Executive Secretary, Tertiary Education Fund (TETFund) has decried the low-level performance of North-East tertiary institutions’ lecturers in the area of writing grant proposals for researches.
He stated this while declaring open, a training workshop for lecturers and heads of tertiary institutions in the North-East geopolitical zone on grant writing skills, to help them access grants for their researches.
Bogoro who said the low performance was not encouraging, added that the workshop was part of efforts to train the lecturers on how to write grant-winning proposals.
“For too long, we academics have been operating in our silos, clapping with one hand. That is unacceptable. No wonder we are not getting the outcome of research that solves the problems of the society of technology and of the economy.
“That is precisely why our universities have failed to rise to the level of respectability that has been associated with the most competitive economics and the greatest of civilizations. This has to change.
“I’m not happy about the performance of the Northeast in respect of research and grant writing application.
“It’s for this reason that we agreed on this training at TETFund and we spoke with the VC of ATBU, just as I spoke with the VCs of the University of Benin, University of Nigeria, Nsukka and ABU that complacency can destroy our rating and ranking. And that is precisely why we called this meeting,” the TETFund boss said.
He then appealed to participants to rise to the occasion and tasked them to come up with the most recognised and acceptable research and grant proposals that the North-East zone can benefit from.
Meanwhile, the Vice-Chancellor, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Bauchi (ATBU), Prof Mohammed Abdulazeez, has revealed that the institution is working hard to proffer solutions to farmers/herders’ crisis through its Centre of Excellence on Diary.
He noted that universities ought to come up with solutions to the various problems in the country, including insecurity, adding that in that regard, ATBU is developing a science park for Nigeria’s survival.
Speaking on cattle rearing, Abdulazeez submitted that the university’s finding showed that herders did not have to move around with their herds of cattle, saying that ranching increased yield.
“Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University is trying to solve issues. One of the issues is the insecurities of this country. People don’t even look at it, and I think as a university, we are supposed to find solutions to this issue and one of the things that we are doing is that we have gotten a Centre of Excellence on Diary in ATBU.
“Our target is to show to our brothers that the best way to keep your cattle is to keep it around your house, feed them well and you will find out that you don’t have to move around.
“The sense in it is that the more you move, the more you lose energy, the more you stay in one place, the more you grow fatter. We all want our cows to grow fatter to give higher production of milk,” the VC said.
“The university through research and development is trying to develop a science park. We have also gotten a centre of excellence in addressing social standards and procurement issues in this country.
“These are two issues that are fundamental in the survival of this country and when our social standard and procurement issues have been solved, it will help us to go a long way,” Prof Abdulazeez informed.
