EVALUATING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF TETFUND-SPONSORED ACADEMIC STAFF DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES IN SELECTED POLYTECHNICS IN NORTH-CENTRAL NIGERIA

The Tertiary Education Trust Fund Academic Staff Training and Development intervention was established to enhance the capacity of academic staff in Nigerian tertiary institutions through local and foreign training programmes. This study assessed the performance of beneficiaries, adequacy of training curricula, and coping strategies adopted by scholars in selected polytechnics in North-Central Nigeria. A descriptive survey design was adopted, and data were collected from 187 respondents using a structured questionnaire. Frequencies and percentages were used for data analysis. The findings revealed that both local and foreign training programmes positively influenced academic staff performance. Foreign-trained beneficiaries demonstrated stronger competencies in promoting students’ use of websites and digital learning resources, indicating greater exposure to technology-enhanced learning and global best practices. However, locally trained beneficiaries recorded higher overall performance ratings, suggesting greater contextual relevance of acquired skills. The training curriculum was generally considered adequate, with 58.3% of respondents rating it as adequate or very adequate. Academic preparation was the most common coping strategy (59.8%), followed by support networks (25.7%), while employment opportunities were the least utilized (2.4%). The study concludes that TETFund-sponsored training significantly improved academic staff development and effectiveness. Sustained investment, periodic curriculum review and institutional support are recommended to maximize effectiveness.