Education Minister, Prof. Tahir Mamman, has described the Tertiary Education Research, Applications and Services (TERAS) as a game changer that will transform the nation’s tertiary education landscape.
Speaking while unveiling the platform in Abuja yesterday, Mamman stated that the event marked another significant milestone in the vision of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to transform tertiary education in the country.
He assured that the Ministry would continue to provide unwavering support to beneficiary institutions as well as the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).
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 online all year round, plagiarism detection services as well as provide renewable power solutions for beneficiary institutions’ libraries among others.
With the launch of the platform, he emphasized that such disruptions would never be witnessed again, even as he expressed the commitment of the ministry to leverage on digital educational resources provided by TERAS to accelerate the adoption of hybrid learning methodologies in public tertiary Institutions.
He said: “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.
“We are committed to leveraging digital educational resources provisioned by TERAS to accelerate the adoption of hybrid learning methodologies in our public Tertiary Institutions. The implementation of our ICT road map will occasion the leap that will expand our teaching, learning and research beyond the confines of physical classrooms.”
Earlier in his presentation, the Executive Secretary of TETFund, Arc. Sonny Echono, said that the new platform “provides a centralized 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.
Echono listed the various services of the platform to include the Beneficiary Identity Management System (BIMS), provision of federated academic repository to address critical challenges faced by students and enabling researchers and institutions access to educational resources and research materials.
Other benefits for institutions, staff and students, he added, include sponsored Mobile Internet Access, EagleScan for plagiarism checking, aggregated journal and research subscription, Blackboard Learning Management System and Digital Literacy.
He added that since 2016, over 215 institutions have benefitted from TETFund’s interventions in Information Communications Technology (ICT).
