The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) has begun the allocation process for the 2024 intervention projects.
Executive Secretary of TETFund, Arc Sonny Echono disclosed this at an Interactive session with heads of beneficiary institutions on the disbursement guidelines for 2024 intervention cycle.
He noted that the Fund has recorded the highest collection of education tax since the establishment of the agency, while appreciating the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), for its diligent efforts in collecting the education taxes.
According to him, the 2023 collection is being allocated by the fund for the 2024 intervention projects.
The TETFund boss also attributed the high revenue to increases approved by the former and present administrations to 3 percent of accessible profit and other factors diligently implemented by the FIRS in collaboration with the TETFund.
Speaking on the proposed areas of focus under the 2024 intervention programme, he said TETFund has budgeted a significant increase in annual direct disbursements in response to improvement in tax collections.
According to him, 90.54 percent of taxes generated is budgeted for direct disbursement and designated 6.5 per cent for some projects and 2.94 for stabilisation to enable the fund respond to emerging issues, all of which are subject to final distribution/approvals.
He added that the proposed new interventions in the annual direct disbursement include the establishment of Career Centre/Unit in all categories of beneficiary institutions, as well as institution-based skills development for polytechnics to improve the employability and career prospects of students.
“We would like to express our sincere appreciation to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) for their diligent efforts in collecting the education taxes. I am pleased to inform you that the collection of the Year 2023 Education tax, which we are allocating for the 2024 intervention projects, is the highest collection to date.
“This no doubt is due to the increases approved by the former and present administrations to 3% of accessible profit and other factors diligently implemented by the FIRS in collaboration with the Fund.
“We sincerely hope and call upon the FIRS to sustain and improve the growth of the collection to enable us to deliver on Mr. President’s promise to the Nigerian people and the improvement of our tertiary education sector for greater competitiveness and national development.”
For the Special Direct Disbursement, he said it has increased the allocation and number of beneficiary institutions for the Special High Impact Programme (SHIP), adding that SHIP will also focus on provision of hostels using the Public Private Partnership arrangement for selected Beneficiary institutions.
“We have sustained provisions for: Disaster recovery, Security Infrastructure; and Completion of abandoned projects. We have also sustained allocations for Research including National Research Fund Research and Innovation Fund, Up take of research findings to commercialization Supervision of scholars Phd research.
“We have made provision for 4nos Central Multipurpose Laboratories and an additional provision for the 3nos Agricultural Laboratories/Farms initiated in 2023. We have sustained the implementation of the ICT roadmap with provision for converged services, subscription services for fixed cable /internet access and the TERAS initiative.
“There will be upgrades of Laboratories, Workshops and Equipment to Universities, Polytechnics and Colleges of Education (Technical) for the 2024 Intervention Year. There will also be the Early grade resource centers phase II to Colleges of Education (NCCE)
“Other areas of provision in the budget are: Take-off grants as directed by the Federal Government, Higher Education book development programme, providing for the Shortfall arising from fluctuations in foreign exchange in the ASTD Programme for our foreign scholars, Additional 6 nos Entrepreneurship innovation hubs to selected Polytechnics and COEs, and National Skills development programme for polytechnics and Colleges of Education (Technical),” he said.
He described the year 2023 as “an impactful year that has witnessed series of programs such as the development of the TETFund ICT roadmap culminating in the deployment of the BIMS and launching of the TERAS platforms, the commencement of the designs and strategy for the innovation Hubs to selected beneficiary institutions, and the constitution of the committee for the establishment of two central research laboratories.”
Echono expressed the fund’s determination “to deepen research, promote innovation and honing of skills, encourage the discovery and development of creative talents amongst our scholars and especially the students as a major pillar of the renewed hope agenda of the present Administration.
He appealed to external stakeholders, including the National Assembly, to minimize distractions as TETFund mobilizes, harnesses and efficiently deploys all hands to the plough in restoring the tertiary institutions to the enviable heights envisioned by President Bola Tinubu.
He also called on all heads of institutions present to ensure the smooth and timely implementation of the Year 2023 allocation before the commencement of the 2024 intervention cycle.
He further recalled that the Hon Minister of Education only recently launched the TERAS platform, which will enable the digitalization and transformation of our institutions into educational information hubs in accordance with global standards.
According to him, the Fund is making consideration to specialized beneficiary institutions such as the medical universities for fellowship sponsorship on their ASTD intervention, as well as the Police and military academics in areas of conference sponsorship for academic instructors.
“We are also considering the institutional based skills development intervention line for our Polytechnics in line with the NBTE proposal and general desire of the Heads of our polytechnics to enable them deepen their core areas of Mandate. These new lines of intervention were conceived in response to popular requests by stakeholders.
Also speaking, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Mr David Andrew Adejo, described TETFund as one of the agencies that give succour to the government when problems with unions in tertiary institutions arise.
Adejo commended the management of the fund for deciding to raise the disbursement percentage to 90.54 per cent instead of leaving it at over 80 per cent disbursed in 2023.
According to him, the current administration has started weaning universities, polytechnics and colleges of education of government resources, something that should have begun long ago, adding that at the end of the session, heads of institutions would decide what guidelines to adopt.
On his part, the Executive Secretary of National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), Prof Paulinus Okwelle, who also commended the fund for its activities, said in colleges of education across the country, there are no abandoned projects.
Okwelle said some projects started by the fund in 2023 were already being commissioned, indicating that provosts of the colleges were doing very well in supervising the projects.
He however called for the maintenance of old infrastructures in some colleges of education as they were gradually decaying, stating that NCCE will continue to collaborate with the fund to ensure that all its effort in the colleges is successful.
