Buhari okays N320.3bn intervention fund for tertiary institutions

Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Sonny Echono, made this known on Wednesday in Abuja, the nation’s capital during the Fund’s annual strategic planning workshop with all heads of beneficiary institutions.

Echono noted that the meeting was an avenue to receive feedback and evaluate the performance of its intervention lines to enhance a more robust delivery of the agency’s mandate.

His words, “I am pleased to inform you that Mr. President has approved the 2023 disbursement guidelines in the total sum of N320,345,040, 835. (Three hundred and twenty billion, three hundred and forty-five million, forty thousand, eight hundred and thirty-five Naira only). Based on this, each university shall get, for the Year 2023 intervention cycle, the total sum of N1,154,732,133.00.

“This comprises N954,732,123.00 as annual direct disbursement and N200 million as zonal intervention. Similarly, each Polytechnic shall get N699,344,867.00 comprising of N569,344,807.00 as annual direct disbursement and N130million as zonal intervention, while each College of education shall get N800,862,602 comprising of N670,862,602.00 as annual direct disbursement and N130million as zonal intervention.

“It is pertinent to note that this represents the highest disbursement to each beneficiary institution, since the inception of the Fund.”

Echono added that the fortunes of the Nigerian tertiary education sector have improved significantly under Buhari’s administration, saying that between 2015 to date (8 years), the total sum of N1.702 trillion has been disbursed as education tax collection to public universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education compared to a total sum of N1.249trillion disbursed from the inception of the Fund in 1993 up to 2014 (21 years).

“This remarkable success is due to sustained efforts at expanding and increasing the efficiency of collection of the Education Tax and added impetus is the gracious approval of Mr. President for an increase in education tax from 2.0% to 2.5% in the year 2021,” he stressed.

Echono also urged the president, as a parting gift to the education sector, to give his assent to Finance Bill 2023, which provides for a further increase in education tax from 2.5% to 3%.

The Permanent Secretary, of the Federal Ministry of Education, David Adejo, urged the beneficiary institutions to use the intervention judiciously.

He added that the country is no longer looking for paper presentations but what one can do with his brain and hands.