The Abuja zone of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), students and other unions, have once again raised a red flag over the Tax Reform Bills 2024, warning that the proposed changes could lead to the destruction of the country’s already struggling tertiary education system.
They stated this while speaking with journalists in Abuja on Thursday.
The zonal coordinator of ASUU, Salahu Mohammed Lawal, expressed deep concerns over the planned phasing out of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), a vital financial lifeline for public universities and other higher institutions in Nigeria.
LEADERSHIP reports that the Tax Bills 2024, currently under review by the National Assembly, aims to overhaul the country’s tax system, with significant implications for funding sectors like education.
A key feature of one of the bills is the proposed reduction of allocations to TETFund, which has traditionally supported public universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education in Nigeria. The bill suggests that, starting in 2025, only 50% of the Education Tax will go to TETFund, with the remaining funds redirected to other initiatives, including the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).
The bill also plans for the complete phasing out of TETFund by 2030, with all education tax proceeds to be channelled into NELFUND.
Expressing concern over the development, ASUU criticised the bill’s provisions, particularly those that would slash TETFund’s funding and eventually dismantle it by 2030, urging lawmakers to reconsider the implications for the future of Nigerian education.
ASUU also criticised the shift of funds to the newly created NELFUND, arguing that this untested initiative would undermine a proven system.
The union called on the National Assembly to reject any provisions in the Tax Bill that would harm TETFund, stressing the importance of the fund for the sustainability and growth of Nigerian higher education.
ASUU emphasised that the disappearance of TETFund would not only negatively impact universities but would also regress Nigeria’s global education standing and exacerbate industrial unrest in educational institutions.
Speaking on the implications of the proposed tax system, Lawal said, “The planned shift in funding towards Student Loans may be an approach to force public tertiary education institutions into applying overpriced tuition fees and possibly converting them into revenue-generating bodies.
“The phasing out of TETFund would cause a momentous danger to tertiary education in Nigeria, as its aid to physical infrastructure and human capital development would eventually come to a stop. This move could also lead to students becoming protracted debtors, imitating the financial challenges faced by the nation itself.
“ASUU believes that these changes will brutally weaken TETFund, which has played a fundamental role in the development of Nigeria’s public tertiary education system for over a decade and eventually kill it by 2030.
“It is no longer news that monetary provisions to public tertiary institutions have consistently been insufficient. Capital development in these institutions has collapsed, leaving them heavily reliant on TETFund for sustainability. The precarious issue now is how would public tertiary institutions cope if this proposed reform is approved?”
It further noted that redirecting any portion of the Education Tax to agencies not recognised under the TETFund Act of 2011 is a violation of the law and must not be allowed, adding that eliminating TETFund’s allocation from 2030 effectively dismantles the agency.
According to him, the suggestion that TETFund should explore alternative funding mechanisms was not practicable, as the agency is specifically established to manage funds from the Education Tax.
ASUU, therefore, called on relevant and critical stakeholders in the education sector and the general public to join forces in preserving this all-important agency that is playing a fundamental role in repositioning Nigerian tertiary education for global competitiveness and transformative development.
“The survival of TETFund is a matter of national importance; thus, ASUU firmly resolves not to stay silent as TETFund, a monumental achievement of the union’s constructive engagements with successive Nigerian governments since 1992, faces intimidation of dwindling or eradication.
“Any attempt, whether intentional or otherwise, to repeal the TETFund Act 2011 would constitute a monumental and profound damage to the education sector and the nation as a whole,” it added.
Also speaking, the chairman of SSANU, Nurudeen Yusuf, said it was in total support of ASUU against the phasing out of TETFund by 2030. He emphasised the positive impacts of TETFund on the tertiary education system, saying that the Fund shouldn’t be phased out.
On her part, the chairperson of the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU), Sadiya I. Hassan, said imposing loans on students to pay after graduation while there are no jobs does not make sense. She called for a rethink to allow TETFund to continue with its interventions.
The president of the Students Union Government (SUG) at the University of Abuja, Comrade Bashir Abdullahi Muhammed, said if TETFund interventions cease, there would be a serious problem. “Removing the support is not justifiable,” he stated.
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