Gov. Kefas approves payment of arrears for Taraba varsity staff
Gov. Agbu Kefas of Taraba, on Tuesday directed the payment of all salary arrears owed workers of the Taraba State University, Jalingo.
Kefas gave the directive in Jalingo, during an Expanded Meeting with heads of state owned tertiary institutions in the state.
He said that the outstanding salaries of members of staff in the tertiary institutions would be given due attention.
The governor also promised to commit more funds realised from the recent loan secured by the state, to tertiary education.
According to him, funding will not be a headache anymore.
“I want to assure you that my meeting with you shall be on regular basis, and I will be available to attend to your needs always.
“This meeting has become critical as schools are about to re-open, and there is every need for tertiary heads support and buy-in, to make the free education policy feasible.
“Education is the base of all the development I am planning for the state.
“It is common knowledge that youth restiveness and inner city crimes can be tied to the rot in the education sector,” Kefas said.
The governor said his administration was thinking outside the box to raise more money to fund the huge budget needed to revamp education.
He said the government was targeting agriculture and solid minerals, as a way of boosting the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), of the state, to augment Federal Government allocation.
On the shortage of power supply to schools, he said solar energy and other sources of power would be explored to meet that need.
In their comments, the heads of schools promised to cooperate with the governor in his resolve to provide affordable education.
Dr Ayuba Abarshi, Rector of the Taraba State Polytechnic, Suntai, expressed satisfaction with the governor’s determination to fund tertiary education in the state.
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Abarshi thanked the governor for giving education in the state top priority.
He gave assurance that the heads of the tertiary institutions would continue to key-in to the governor’s vision of taking Taraba to a greater height.
The rector recalled that Kefas had recently visited the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), and sought partnership with the fund to enhance funding for the state’s tertiary institutions.
“This is indeed a demonstration of the zeal and the commitment of our governor to ensure that our institutions are properly funded,” Abarshi added.
The Voice Media Trust (VMT NEWS), reports that heads of Taraba State University, Jalingo, Taraba State College of Education, Zing, and Taraba State Polytechnic Suntai, and others, attended the meeting.
