ALL UNDERGRADUATE programmes for sponsorship by the Petroleum Technology Development Fund, PTDF, would now be done in Nigerian universities.

Bello Aliyu Gusau, executive secretary of the PTDF, disclosed this at a meeting he hosted for vice chancellors of federal universities, where the new strategic agenda that would govern the training and capacity building programmes of the Fund was discussed. Gusau explained that the present scholarship arrangement, which was disproportionately focused on the overseas scholarship scheme, was no longer sustainable and, therefore, needed to be reversed.

“For the post graduate programmes, the bulk of that for both the Masters and PhD’s will be done in Nigerian universities. We are also open to collaboration especially through the split-site PhD programme,” he said.

He said the fund had not jettisoned the overseas scholarship programmes, but would continue to sponsor few candidates especially for courses that are not offered in Nigerian universities and through partnership agreements with select foreign universities.

Abubakar Adamu Rasheed, executive secretary, National Universities Commission, NUC, welcomed the initiative of the PTDF, which he said tallied with the vision to collectively reform postgraduate training in Nigeria.

—  Apr 19, 2017 @ 12:05 GMT

|