The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) Owerri zone has called on Nigerians, particularly vulnerable students, to voice out against the Federal Government’s proposed policy to abolish the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) across public institutions in the country.
They alleged that the proposed policy is a plot to kill public tertiary education in favour of private schools largely owned by political leaders.
The call was made by the Owerri zonal coordinator of ASUU, Prof Dennis Aribodor, on behalf of the zone during a press conference held at the ASUU-UNIZIK conference hall in Awka, on Saturday.
Prof Aribodor said the Union has urged the Senate President, Sen. Godswill Akpabio, and the Federal House of Representatives Speaker, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, to be wary of the potential consequences of abrogating the TETFund.
He said for the last one-and-a-half decades, it has been the backbone of Nigeria’s public tertiary institutions, supporting infrastructural development, postgraduate training, and research capacity building.
He said the union stands against anything that would lead to the denigration or obliteration of TETFund as it observed with keen interest the ongoing debate on the review of the tax system in the country.
He said part of the bill proposed to end funding of the TETFund by the year 2030 and thereafter cede the responsibilities to the newly established Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).
According to the zonal coordinator, the conference aimed at sensitising and inviting all stakeholders for a patriotic action to save public tertiary education in Nigeria by rejecting the Nigeria Tax Bill 2024, especially as it affects the abolishing of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).
“Going back to history, the 1980s were a particularly difficult period for Nigerian universities and other tertiary institutions.
The economic downturn, compounded by the implementation of the Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) of the Babangida Administration, masterminded by the IMF and World Bank, led to cuts in public spending on education. Universities and other tertiary institutions were starved of resources, and lecturers were poorly paid. ASUU, recognising that the future of Nigerian education was at stake, embarked on a series of strikes and negotiations with the government. Their demands were clear: improved funding for universities and education, respect for university autonomy, and better welfare for lecturers.
“During this period, ASUU played a key role in the development of what would later become the Education Tax Fund (ETF), now known as TETFund (Tertiary Education Trust Fund). In January 1993, the Education Tax Act No7 of 1993 was promulgated. The Decree imposed a 2% tax on the assessable profits of all companies in Nigeria. This was a home-grown solution to address issues of funding to rehabilitate decaying infrastructure, restore the lost glory of education and confidence in the system as well as consolidate the gains thereto; build capacity of teachers and lecturers; teacher development; development of prototype designs; etc.
“The Education Tax Act of No7 of 1993 mandated the Fund to operate as an Intervention Fund to all levels of Public Education (Federal, State and local). This mandate lasted between 1999 to May 2011 when the ETF Act was repealed and replaced by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund Act, due to lapses and challenges in operating the Education Trust Fund. These lapses and challenges include that the ETF was overburdened and overstretched and could only render palliative support to all levels of public educational institutions in Nigeria and duplication of functions and mandates of others.
“Agencies set up after the ETF, such as Universal Basic Education (UBE). The Education Tax Fund played a significant role in funding education from primary to tertiary in Nigeria until the law was amended to focus the Fund on only tertiary education, thus changing the name to TETFund.
“TETFund has since become one of ASUU’s most significant achievements, channelling much-needed resources into the tertiary education system for infrastructure development, research, and teaching facilities.
The distribution ratio of the Fund is 2:1:1 between Universities, Polytechnics and Colleges of Education. TETFund currently provides intervention to Two Hundred and Forty-Four (244) public tertiary institutions in Nigeria, which are 96 Universities, 72 Polytechnics and 76 Colleges of Education.
