Announce disbursement for 2024
From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) said on Tuesday that it had “bumper harvest” this year as regards education tax collected in a single year since the establishment of TETFund.
The Fund confessed that the feat was, however, made possible through the help of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) who diligently put extra efforts in collecting the education taxes, in addition to the fact that education tax was increased to three per cent from hitherto 2.5 per cent.
Executive Secretary of TETFund, Sonny Echono, who disclosed the development at an interactive session with heads of beneficiary institutions on the disbursement guidelines for 2024 intervention cycle, in Abuja, however, did not disclose the amount for disbursement for the 2024 interventions.
He noted that the 2023 collection is currently being allocated by the Fund for the 2024 intervention projects, hence he solicited the support of the stakeholders to ensure successful 2024 interventions.
Meanwhile, the TETFund boss said the Fund has budgeted a significant increase in annual direct disbursements in response to the significant improvement in tax collections.
He said: “90.54 per cent of taxes generated has been budgeted for direct disbursement. We have also designated 6.5 per cent for some projects, and 2.94 for stabilisation to enable us respond to emerging issues, all of which are subject to final 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.
He said: “For the special direct disbursements, we have increased the allocation and number of beneficiary institutions for the Special High Impact Programme (SHIP) which 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 also have sustained allocations for research including National Research Fund Research and Innovation Fund, uptake of research findings to commercialization supervision of scholars PhD research.
“We have made provision for four central multipurpose laboratories and an additional provision for the three 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.
“Additionally, there will be upgrade 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, provision for the shortfall arising from fluctuations in foreign exchange in the ASTD programme for our foreign scholars, additional six entrepreneurship innovation hubs to selected Polytechnics and CoEs, and national skills development programme for polytechnics and Colleges of Education (Technical).”
Echono described the year 2023 as an impactful year that witnessed series of programmes 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.
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.
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, confirmed that there are no abandoned projects in CoEs across the country due to the interventions by TETFund.
He, however, called for the maintenance of old infrastructures in some Colleges of Education that are gradually decaying, stating that NCCE will continue to collaborate with TETFund to ensure that all its effort in the colleges is successful.
Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Mr. David Adejo, in his remarks, described TETFund as one of the agencies that give succour to government when problems with unions in tertiary institutions arise.
He commended TETFund management for the decision to raise the disbursement percentage to 90.54 per cent instead of leaving it at the over 80 per cent disbursed in 2023.