Dr Bello Gusau, Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Technology
Development Fund, PTDF, on Wednesday in Abuja said granting
scholarships to students to study overseas may no longer continue.
”The present scholarship arrangement, which is disproportionately
focused on the Overseas Scholarship Scheme, is no longer sustainable and
therefore needs to be reversed”, Gusau said at an interactive session
with Vice-Chancellors of Federal Universities in Nigeria.
A statement by Mr Kalu Otisi, PTDF Head, Press and External
Relations Unit, quoted Gusau as saying that there would be a new
strategic agenda that would govern the training and capacity building
programmes of the Fund.
“At the centre of the agenda is the domestication of all PTDF
training and capacity building programmes, with the implication that
Nigerian universities will now play a greater role in the process as
partners and major stakeholders.
“The bulk of the scholarship for both the Masters and PhD’s to be
offered going forward, would be for training in Nigerian universities.
“We are also open to collaboration, especially through the split-site Ph.D programme,’’ he said.
Gusau said the meeting with the Vice-Chancellors was to agree on
relevant terms as well as gather sufficient information that will assist
the Fund in the planning and implementation process.
Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof.
Abubakar Rasheed, lauded the initiative, saying it tallied with the
vision to collectively reform post-graduate training in Nigeria.
Abubakar described PTDF as the single most important intervention
agency outside the education family intervening to build capacity in
select areas in the country.
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