Chidimma UCHEGBU, Abuja
Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, has unveiled the Tertiary Education Research, Applications and Services (TERAS) platform.
Unveiling the platform, initiated by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), on Tuesday in Abuja, the minister said TERAS marked a significant milestone in the present administration’s quest to transform the nation’s tertiary education sector.
“What I witnessed when I was admitted to the TERAS platform is truly impressive. The technology underpinning TERAS is a testament to the careful expertise in its design and implementation.
“The Ministry will continue to provide our beneficiary institutions and TETFund with unwavering support to fully realize the potential of TERAS, as a key component of our resolve in repositioning, strengthening, and rekindling hope in our tertiary education sector.”
While saying the Federal Ministry of Education would ensure the platform’s growth to benefit millions of students and academic staff, Mamman said no stone would be left untouched to address the challenges in the Nigerian education system.
“We at the Ministry are acutely aware of the challenges that our education system faces in today’s world.
“Education is an investment in the future for our children and the destiny of our nation. Issues stemming from the past, including the disruptions caused by COVID-19, as well as ongoing funding challenges in our sector, continue to weigh heavily on our minds.
“To the dedicated staff and staff in our tertiary institutions, please be rest assured that I am fully cognizant of your concerns, and we are committed to addressing them head-on.
“I won’t dwell on these issues in great detail, but I want to convey that we are taking decisive steps to tackle them. It is for this very reason that I have seen and heard, TERAS represents remarkable progress for all of us. The countless benefits that TERAS promises to bring to educators, students, and the entire educational community are awe-inspiring and must be fully exploited,” he said.
On his part, Executive Secretary of TETFund, Arc. Sonny Echono, said the unveiling and launching of the platform marked a significant moment in the history of Nigerian tertiary education.
“We envision TERAS as the centralized hub for tertiary education services, fostering quality assurance, collaboration, efficiency and innovation,” he said.
Speaking further, the TETFund boss said “TERAS has its origins in the challenging days of the COVID-19 pandemic, a period when our nation and our education system ground to a halt. The impact was profound, but it also served as a catalyst for action.
“Government, recognizing the need to mitigate disruptions in education, swiftly set in motion a series of policies and directives through the Federal Ministry of Education. These initial steps have now culminated in the creation of TERAS, the groundbreaking platform we present today.”
Echono said “TERAS has been meticulously designed to seamlessly integrate various essential components. First is identity management through BIMS (Beneficiary Identity Management System), followed by a federated academic repository to address critical challenges faced by students, researchers; and institutions in accessing educational resources and research materials.
“Other services such as, sponsored Mobile Internet Access, EagleScan for plagiarism checking. Aggregated Journal & Research Subscription inclusive of EBSCO, Blackboard Learning Management System, Digital Literacy (ICDL and Communication Skills), and Intervention Funding are available to our institutions, staff, and students.”
He said the agency aimed at growing the over 2 million students and staff of beneficiary institutions currently captured on BIMS to beyond 3 million before the end of the year.
In a remark, the Secretary, the Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities, Prof Yakubu Ochefu, commended TETFund for putting in place TERAS, even as he called for more funding of the scheme.
“TERAS has been designed as an educational technology mall, if you have any technology out there that can fill the gaps and add value to our nation’s edu-tech, please let us know so we can work together.
“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 the public educational platform and should be opened to all Nigerians…. so that it can be one of the world’s best repositories.
“I know to do that requires additional investment, that is why the stakeholders are requesting for an increase in the quantum of funding for ICT to be able to cover new advances…, an increase in up to 35 percent for educational technology for the next two years,” Ochefu said.
