Buhari Approves N320bn For Public Tertiary Institutions

The federal government has approved the sum of N320,345,040,835 as the 2023 intervention funds for public institutions across the country.

The Executive Secretary, Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Arc. Sonny Echono, disclosed this in Abuja on Wednesday, during an annual strategic planning workshop with all heads of the beneficiary-institutions.

Echono said the meeting was an avenue to receive feedback and evaluate the performance of TETFund’s intervention lines to help it deliver on its mandate in a more effective and efficient manner.

He stated that each university shall get, for the Year 2023 intervention cycle, the total sum of N1,154,732,133.00, each Polytechnic shall get N699,344,867.00, while each College of Education shall get N800,862,602.

The executive secretary said, “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 & forty-five million, forty thousand, eight hundred & thirty five Naira only) On the basis of 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 N200million 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 inception of the Fund.”

Echono further said the fortunes of the Nigerian tertiary education sector has improved significantly under the Buhari administration, saying that between 2015 to date (8 years), the total sum of N1,702trillion has been disbursed as EDT 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 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 added.

Echono also urged President Muhammadu Buhari to, as a parting gift to the education sector and a fitting finale to his manifest desire to improve education funding in the country, assent the Finance Act 2023, which provides for a further increase in education tax from 2.5% to 3%.

Also speaking, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, David Adejo, urged the beneficiary-institutions to use the intervention judiciously, saying that the country was no longer looking for paper presentations but what one can do with his brain and hands.