Academy Publishing Centre In Northwest: TETFund’s Invaluable Contribution To Scholarship, by Rahma Olamide Oladosu
The importance of books in literacy development is unquantifiable. The level of development of a nation can be strictly attached to its standards of education which good books stimulate.
To this end, it is apt to assert that book publishing plays a significant role in the growth of a nation.
Historically, book publishing has come a long way in Nigeria. To be precise, it commenced about 162 years ago.
Regrettably, the industry has been bedevilled by various challenges, despite its growing size and structure.
But with the intervention of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, TETFund, the days of teething challenges stalling the growth of academic publishing, most especially, are now numbered.
Though the project was first executed in six federal universities across the country, sometimes last year, TETFUND recently inaugurated an ultra-modern Academy Publishing Center, APC, at the Usman Danfodio University, Sokoto, UDUS.
This is for the production of academic textbooks and research works from higher institutions within the Northwest states.
TETFUND Executive Secretary, Prof. Elias Suleiman Bogoro, during the visitation and assessment of the center at UDUS, said the visit was to look for a roadmap and engage the academic community in the Northwest geo-political zone on how to make the Center operational, successfully managed and sustained for the benefit of all the Tertiary institutions within the zone.
He added that the Fund’s intervention is targeted at creating the capacity for academic publishing through the establishment of Academic Publishing Centers with state-of-the-art facilities in tertiary institutions located across the six geo-political zones in the country.
“Over the time, the publication of indigenous academic texts are done outside the shores of Nigeria. We have our books being published in U.K, India, USA with the attendant consequences of the pressure in the demand for foreign currency,” he said.
He described as worrisome the quality of most academic publications in the country, adding that the publishing Center, will not only ensure the availability of relevant books in the diverse subject areas but also safeguard national pride and reduce the demand for foreign exchange.
Also speaking, the Chairman, TETFUND Board of Trustees, Alhaji Kashim Ibrahim-Imam, commended President Muhammadu Buhari for his consistent support to the Fund in his efforts to restore, rehabilitate and consolidate on educational activities in Nigeria.
He assured that TETFUND will continue to deliver responsive intervention programs and will be at the forefront in promoting creative and innovative approaches to educational learning as well as championing new literacy enhancing areas.
In his welcome address, the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Lawal Suleman Bilbis, thanked the TETFUND leadership for giving more attention to research and publication, especially considering their cardinal roles in academic community.
He assured of total commitment to the successful operation, management and sustainability of the Center.
Perhaps, TETFund knows that the fundamental purpose of book publishing is basically to extend the frontiers of knowledge from one generation to the other, thereby bring about continuous intellectual development. And that is why it is floating these APCs in Nigerian public universities.
I have no doubt that the APC in UDUS, like others that were previously established, will achieve the aforementioned objectives and even surpass expectations.
Rahma Olamide Oladosu is a Staff Writer with the Economic Confidential
