The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has called for its direct involvement in the implementation of projects under the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).
The ASUU Owerri zone comprising Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Igbariam, Anambra state; Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Imo state; Imo State University, Owerri, Imo state; Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Abia state, and Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra state made the call while briefing newsmen at the ASUU, Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK), Awka, chapter secretariat on Sunday.
Co-ordinator of ASUU Owerri zone, Professor Dennis Aribodor who led other leaders of the union also demanded decentralisation of the management of TETfund to make respective tertiary institutions responsible for managing the funds allocated to it.
He emphasised that the present practice where the management and Governing Council of the respective tertiary institutions are the ones who recommend projects and other needs of their institution to be executed under TETfund without involving ASUU was responsible for the fraud being recorded in the TETfund management.
He noted that both the management and Government Council members are appointees of the visitor to the institutions which may enable them to collude with TETfund management in Abuja over the execution of the projects.
The Owerri zone ASUU particularly warned against abolishing TETfund as it claimed to be contained in the proposed Tax Reform Bill (2024) currently before the National Assembly.
The union also urged all stakeholders to save public tertiary education in the country by “rejecting the Nigeria Tax Bill 2024 especially as it affects the abolishing of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund)”.
Aribodor argued that TETfund has been the lifewire of all public tertiary institutions including Universities, Polytechnics and Colleges.
He warned that if TETfund is abolished, public tertiary institutions will become comatose for the privately owned counterparts to thrive.
“ASUU is alarmed by this dangerous and unpatriotic aspect of the proposed new tax regime to wit: that the Education Tax, called Development Levy, used to bankroll TETFund’s programmes should be ceded to the newly established Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).
“ASUU notes with serious concern section 59(3) of the Nigerian Tax Bill (2024) which specifically states that only 50% of the Development Levy would be made available to TETfund in 2025 and 2026 while NITDA, NASENI, and NELFUND would share the remaining percentage”, he stated further.
The zone particularly condemned plans to stop TETFund’s funding totally in 2030 as allegedly proposed in the tax bill.
It also kicked against the proposal for channeling all the education tax to NELFUND, insisting that that provision of bursary to students should be prioritised.
