The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has appealed to the Federal Government not to systemically phase out the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) which has “transformed” tertiary educational institutions in Nigeria in the last three decades.
ASUU President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, made the appeal when he appeared on Channels Television’s breakfast show, ‘Sunrise Daily’ on Thursday.
He warned that suffocating the funding source of TETFund to run the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) would destroy public education in the country.
“The only source of funding is from TETFund, so when you destroy it, you have destroyed public universities,” he said.
Osodeke also alleged that some members of the ruling class “want to destroy public universities and ensure that the children of the poor remain slaves.”
The ASUU president faulted the contentious Tax Reform Bills introduced by the President Bola Tinubu administration, saying that stakeholders were not consulted within the educational sector before the bills were sent to the National Assembly.
“TETFund is a product of ASUU. You can’t make the tax laws without meeting with ASUU for inputs before proposing it before the National Assembly.
“The Vice Chancellors were not consulted, Pro-Chancellors were not consulted. The people sat down somewhere and said over the next five years let’s scrap it without consulting those who initiated this bill that has transformed Nigerian public universities. That’s not how to work in a system. That’s not how to run a country that is democratic,” he said.
Osodeke further said rather than systematically phase out TETFund, which derives its funding from consolidated revenue from company income tax, the government should bankroll the newly formed NELFUND from Value Added Tax (VAT).
“Let that Act that was initiated in 1993 that has transformed all Nigerian universities, allow it to stay. If you want to drive NELFUND, go and look for ways to fund it. Don’t take from the one that is in existence to fund it.
“Take 1% or 2% of VAT to fund NELFUND. Don’t take from Peter to pay Peter. Go and look for ways to fund NELFUND,” he said.
“When you go around all Nigerian universities, polytechnics and colleges of education today, 90% of the physical structures you have there are products of this struggle for TETFUND.
“But this tax bill is saying that by the year 2030, it should be scrapped and merged with NASENI and NITDA and then reduced to 2%,” Osodeke stated.
LEADERSHIP reports that the new tax bills introduced by the Tinubu administration have been dogged by widespread controversy and sparked scathing criticisms and stiff opposition from many including state governors under the aegis of the National Economic Council (NEC).
The 19 governors in northern Nigeria have also unequivocally rejected sections of the Bills.
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