The Sonny Echono-led Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) has continued to receive commendations for initiating the Tertiary Education Research and Application Systems (TERAS).
The latest commendation came from the umbrella body of Nigerian students – the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS). NANS’ President, Lucky Emonefe, described the introduction of TERAS as a significant step towards revitalising and transforming Nigeria’s tertiary education system.
Launched in October 2023 by the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, the groundbreaking platform provides a centralised hub for tertiary education services by offering a wide range of capabilities and functionalities for public tertiary institutions, students, researchers and the entire education ecosystem.
TERAS, which was designed for all 225 public tertiary institutions in Nigeria, comprises Information Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure and services structured into separate but interconnected modules, offering computer storage and networking infrastructure with high reliability and availability to participating institutions. With this initiative, institutional libraries are empowered to squarely address the business of providing support for publication and learning needs of students.
Its services include Beneficiary Identity Management System (BIMS), Federated Academic Repository to address critical challenges faced by students, researchers and institutions in accessing educational resources and research materials.
Other merits for institutions, staff and students include sponsored Mobile Internet Access, EagleScan for plagiarism check, Aggregated Journal and Research Subscription, Blackboard Learning Management System and Digital Literacy, among others.
So far, Blackboard has witnessed a total student enrolment of 1,753,640 since it was introduced. According to the NANS National President, Lucky Emonefe, “TERAS is a laudable initiative that aligns with our association’s goals of promoting quality education, student welfare and academic excellence. We appreciate TETFUND’s efforts in addressing the infrastructural deficits, enhancing academic quality and promoting research and innovation in our higher institutions.”
The body urged all higher institutions to fully embrace and implement the platform by ensuring that their students are part of it. “We encourage schools to onboard their students and provide the necessary support for the successful execution of TERAS,” he added. TERAS entails provision of adequate infrastructure, training for lecturers and creating an enabling environment for research and innovation to thrive. 
“TERAS aims to improve infrastructure, enhance academic quality, promote research and innovation and better equip students for future challenges. NANS believes that this initiative will significantly impact the education sector, leading to improved academic outcomes, increased graduate employability and better preparedness for the workforce.
“We commend TETFUND for their commitment to transforming tertiary education in Nigeria and look forward to a successful implementation of TERAS. We also call on the government to provide the necessary support and funding to ensure the sustainability of this initiative,” Emonefe added.
While unveiling the scheme, Minister of Education, Mamman, described it as a game changer that will transform the nation’s tertiary education landscape. The launch, he noted, marked another significant milestone in the vision of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to transform tertiary education in our country.
While assuring that the Ministry would continue to provide unwavering support to beneficiary institutions as well as the Fund, the Minister lamented the disruptions caused by COVID-19 to the nation’s education sector, stressing that the new platform would benefit tertiary institutions, students and researchers by offering free mobile internet access to staff and students on and off campus, access to research e-Journals all year round, plagiarism detection services, provide renewable power solutions for beneficiary institutions’ libraries, among others.
He expressed the commitment of the ministry to leverage digital educational resources provided by TERAS to accelerate the adoption of hybrid learning methodologies in public tertiary institutions.
Also, the Secretary General, Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities, Prof. Yakubu Ochefu, lauded the TETFund boss for putting in place the technology. He called on Nigerians with any form of technology that can fill gaps in the education sector and add value to Nigeria’s edu-tech to come forward with it.
“I want to draw the attention of the minister to ensure TERAS serves as a research platform for all Nigerians. It has been built on a public educational platform and should be opened to all Nigerians so that it can be one of the world’s best repositories.
“I know that to do that requires additional investment, that is why the stakeholders are requesting for increase in the quantum of funding for ICT to be able to cover new advances, an increase in up to 35 per cent for educational technology for the next two years,” Ochefu said.
