The Rector of Federal Polytechnic, Offa, Dr. Kamoru O. Kadiri, has lauded the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETfund) for its transformative interventions, stating that without the agency, Nigerian tertiary institutions would have regressed into "glorified secondary schools."

Speaking on the sidelines of a TETfund town hall meeting in Ilorin, the engineer and academic leader revealed that his institution has received no less than N4 billion from the fund for infrastructural development under his administration.

"This is not just routine funding," Dr. Kadiri emphasized. "I am talking about special interventions, high-impact projects, and critical infrastructure upgrades classrooms, laboratories, hostels, power systems, and digital facilities all made possible by TETfund."

He disclosed that even in the current year, the fund allocated an additional N850 million specifically for infrastructure at the polytechnic.

Dr. Kadiri commended TETfund's leadership for restoring credibility and functionality to public tertiary institutions across Nigeria, calling their work essential to preserving academic standards and equipping graduates with 21st-century skills.

"If you remove TETfund today," he warned, "many institutions will struggle to deliver quality education. Their impact cannot be overemphasized."

"However, I want TETfund to focus attention on building of halls of residence for students. The student population of the Federal Polytechnic, Offa is not less than 18,000. We need hostel accommodation of not less than 3,000 capacity.

"We also need the intervention of TETfund in the provision of energy and provision of utility vehicle for the convenience of principal officers and administrative duties."

On maintenance of TETfund buildings, the polytechnic chief added that "this year in particular, TETfund directed all tertiary institutions not to embark on construction of new structures. Instead, it earmarked N250 million each for the maintenance of buildings handed over to them.

"Thirty percent of the fund for the purchase of laboratories equipment and the rest for the maintenance of the aging structures on campuses.