By Tunde Oladunjoye
As a former member of the Governing Council of Tai Solarin University of Education, Ijagun, Ogun State (2016-2018), I can testify that the major projects we were able to accomplish were the projects funded by the Federal Government of Nigeria through the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND).
TETFUND also sponsored many of the university’s staff, academic and non-academic, for continuous training abroad. For a state-owned university, which also witnessed the era of zero subvention from its owners, the state government, one could have imagined what would have been the fate of TASUED without TETFUND.
It was the same situation when I served as a Member of the Governing Council of Federal Polytechnic, Ukana, Akwa-Ibom State. All the major capital projects at the Ukanna main campus of the polytechnic were funded by TETFUND.
This is actually the reality in all the tertiary institutions in Nigeria today. TETFUND has remained the bedrock of infrastructural development for the colleges of education, polytechnics and universities owned by both the federal and state governments.
The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) was originally established as Education Tax Fund (ETF) by the Act No. 7 of 1993 as amended by Act No. 40 of 1998 (now repealed and replaced with Tertiary Education Trust Fund (Establishment, Etc.) Act No. 16 of 2011. It is an intervention agency set up to provide supplementary support to all levels of public tertiary institutions with the main objective of using funding alongside project management for the rehabilitation, restoration and consolidation of Tertiary Education in Nigeria.
However, the reality on ground over the years and even now, is that rather than be a supplementary source of funding for the three tiers of tertiary education, TETFUND has turned out to be about the main source of funding for projects, scholarships research and development, publishing and publications.
The strategic support that the agency has provided for education in Nigeria is so effective and efficient that even the promoters of private universities have started began to lobby for accommodation by TETFUND, though unjustifiably.
The main source of income available to the Fund is the 2 percent Education Tax paid from the assessable profit of companies registered in Nigeria. However, the Tax was reviewed upwards to 2.5 percent by the Finance Act 2021 and further increased to 3 percent by the Finance Act 2023 effective September 2023.
The funds are disbursed for the general improvement of education in federal and state tertiary education institutions specifically for the provision or maintenance of essential physical infrastructure for teaching and learning, infrastructural material and equipment research and publications, academic staff training and development, and any other need which, in the opinion of the 13-member Board of Trustees, is critical and essential for the improvement and maintenance of standards in the higher educational institutions.
In 2024, the agency has impacted so significantly that testimonies abound. TETFUND has become the geese that lays the golden, so much that the Nigerian students and their lecturers do not want any harm to come near it, either in the guise of taxation, restructuring, harmonization and what have you.
At different fora and interviews in the outgoing year, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) have warned the Federal Government against tampering with the existence of TETFUND, insisting that such a move will badly injure the Nigerian university system.
In an interview with The Guardian newspapers, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) cautioned the Federal Government against phasing out the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) in favour of the newly introduced Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), warning that such a move could severely damage Nigeria’s public university system.
“TETFund has been instrumental in transforming tertiary education across Nigeria for over 30 years. Scrapping it would devastate public universities and deny access to education for children from low-income families,” said ASUU President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, during the interview with The Guardian.
According to Osodeke: “TETFund is the product of our struggle as educators. The government cannot unilaterally decide to dismantle it without engaging those who understand its importance,” Osodeke emphasised.
ASUU proposed that the government explore alternative funding mechanisms for NELFUND, such as allocating a percentage of Value Added Tax (VAT), rather than repurposing TETFund’s consolidated revenue from corporate taxes: “We are not opposed to NELFUND. But the government must find a new source of funding without dismantling the existing framework that has sustained our universities,” Osodeke added.
He highlighted the significant role TETFund plays in providing infrastructure and academic development in public institutions, noting that 90% of physical structures in universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education are products of TETFund.”
ASUU urged the government to uphold the legacy of TETFund, which has inspired similar initiatives like Ghana’s Education Trust Fund (GETFund).
“Countries in Africa are learning from TETFund. Scrapping it now would be a step backward for Nigeria,” Osodeke stressed, appealing to the government to prioritize education funding in line with global standards.
For the avoidance of doubt, the ASUU President affirmed categorically that: “This is not just about ASUU; it’s about the survival of Nigeria’s education system and the opportunities it provides for millions.”
He who wears the shoe, they say, knows where it pinches. It was, therefore, not surprising when the umbrella body for university students in Nigeria, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) joined ASUU to mobilize against any attempt to scrap or reduce revenue accruable to TETFUND.
NANS, at a well-attended event in Lagos, called on the Federal Government for more clarification on the matter. The student body made its position known at the 86th National Senate Sitting and Pre-Convention event held at the Lagos State University (LASU), Ojo. Over 5,000 student leaders from various levels (national, geo-political zones, states, and campuses) across Nigeria attended the event.
The Senate President of NANS, Babatunde Afeez Akinteye, according to The Nigerian Tribune, urged the Federal Government to be transparent about its future plans for TETFUND in the Tax Reform Bills. He emphasized the need to clarify whether the proposed tax reform would negatively affect the agency.
“Every Nigerian recognizes the importance of TETFUND in our educational institutions. Its projects are evident across campuses. Without TETFUND, we cannot imagine what would have become of our campuses.
The agency’s contributions go beyond infrastructural development to include capacity building, research, and innovative activities. For these reasons, TETFUND must not be tampered with but instead properly funded and managed by competent individuals of integrity to ensure even greater performance,” he said.
Not long after, with the opposition against alleged aim of scraping of TETFUND becoming louder and louder, the Federal Government had to come out to dispel the rumours being peddled that there were plans to scrap TETFUND.
Mr. Bayo Onanuga, the presidential spokesman, dispelled the rumour, saying there was no such plan to scrap TETFUND and a few other agencies in the proposed tax bill.
“No part of the tax reform bills currently before the National Assembly (NASS) recommends the scrapping of Tertiary Education Fund (TETFund), National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) and National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA)”, the Presidency through Onanuga said in a statement.
“Contrary to the lies being peddled, the bills do not suggest that NASENI, TETFUND, and NITDA will cease to exist in 2029 after the passage of the bills. Government agencies, such as NASENI, TETFUND, and NITDA, are funded through budgetary provisions with company income tax and other taxes paid by the same businesses that are being overburdened with the special taxes.”
As the clarification from the Federal Government seemed to have put the mind of the concerned public at rest, desperate people embarked on campaign of calumny against TETFUND and its Executive Secretary, Architect Sonny Echono, who had taken the Fund commendably to greater heights locally and internationally, since he took over the affairs of the agency. The published attacks and lies against TETFUND and its helmsman, mostly on back street social media were born out of envy and mindless hustling of certain people who wanted to wrestle the steering of TETFUND for their ulterior, self-serving and unpatriotic motives.
It is, however, highly commendable that TETFUND and its management continue to remain focused, undistracted in the delivery of their mandate, with the active support of its Board Members picked across the six geopolitical zones of the country and chaired by the former Governor of Kastina State, Rt. Hon. Aminu Masari.
As part of efforts towards revamping the Nigerian economy through promotion and investments in groundbreaking research and innovations, the maiden edition of the National Research Fair/Exhibition has been successfully held in Abuja with innovators, researchers and inventors on the ground to showcase various innovative projects.
The five-day event, which was held between 17th and 21st November 2024, not doubt, lived up to its billings.
The fair represented a significant landmark in TETFund’s quest for promotion of groundbreaking research and innovations and provided an opportunity for researchers and inventors to display local solutions capable of supporting national development.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the event held at the Eagle Square, the Honourable Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Alausa, stated that only impactful research and innovation could equip Nigeria with needed elements to transform its fortune, adding that the Federal Government is committed to leveraging research and for economic growth.
He stated that despite being the first of its kind, the TETFUND fair would be held annually to unleash the innate capacities of millions of young Nigerians by giving them opportunities to contribute to economic development through innovation.
The Executive Secretary of TETFund, Arc. Sonny Echono stated that the exhibition was aimed at “showcasing research outcomes from the Fund’s Beneficiary Institutions, as well as other innovations both from the formal and informal sectors with the aim of connecting them to industry for prototype upscale and commercialization.”
He added that the exhibition was also an effort by the Fund to ensure innovators and researchers contribute their quota to revamping the country’s economy, create jobs, as well as generate and redistribute wealth among Nigerians.
In his own remarks at the event, the Chairman, Board of Trustees of TETFund, Rt. Hon. Aminu Masari, reiterated the commitment of the TETFund Board to research development in tertiary institutions, adding that the paucity of funds required for promoting cutting-edge research that are crucial to national development will be significantly addressed under his leadership.
It is hoped that the Federal Government will strengthen TETFUND and not whittle down its powers, influence or resources under any guise even as the Architect Sonny Echono-led management continues its giant, positive strides.
| Tunde Oladunjoye, a journalist, was at various times a member of the Governing Councils of Tai Solarin University of Education, Ijagun, Ogun State and Federal Polytechnic, Ukanna, Akwa-Ibom State