Oniyangi said the suspension was in response to the excessive cost of training in foreign institutions as well as the high rate of abscondment of foreign scholars.
The Board of Trustees, Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) has suspended the foreign component of the TETFund Scholarship for Academic Staff (TSAS) Intervention with effect from January 1 2025.
The announcement was made in Abuja on Thursday by the Director, Public Affairs of the Fund, Abdulmumin Oniyangi.
Oniyangi said the suspension was in response to the excessive cost of training in foreign institutions as well as the high rate of abscondment of foreign scholars.
He, however, said the TETFund scholars who have already enrolled in foreign institutions would continue to draw down on their scholarships till the end of their programmes.
“It is expected that the suspension will conserve and reduce the pressure on the foreign exchange rate, boost investment and local capacity in Nigerian tertiary educational institutions and significantly increase the number of beneficiaries of the intervention.
“To this end, TETFund in collaboration with the National Universities Commission (NUC) has intensified efforts in the implementation of the Trans-national Education Guidelines recently approved by President Bola Tinubu,” he said.
He added that under the scheme, top-ranking institutions from the United Kingdom, United States of America, Malaysia, Brazil, etc. would be encouraged to mount programmes in partnership with Nigerian institutions.
He said this is in a bid to offer the same standard and quality of courses that are obtainable in their home institutions.
He added that beneficiary institutions of TETFund had been advised to prioritise their training needs for implementation in Nigerian institutions and ensure strict compliance.