17 hours Ago By Punch Editorial Board
NIGERIA’S tertiary public education subsector is in shambles, yet the government is bent on disrupting the sector’s meagre gains. To drive this home, the President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, Emmanuel Osodeke, recently expressed concern about the phased defunding of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund for the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, as reflected in the Tax Reform Bills. Therefore, the National Assembly should expunge those provisions from the tax bills.
Also, President Bola Tinubu should reverse the scrapping of TETFund for NELFUND. At the public hearing organised by the Senate Committee of the NASS on the tax bills, Osodeke stressed that scrapping TETFund would kill public tertiary institutions. “Over 90 per cent of capital projects in state and federal colleges of education, polytechnics and universities during this period were TETFund-sponsored,” he said.
Osodeke has made a notable point. The agency has remained a major source of higher degree training for young academics and support staff since 2011 when the Act establishing the Education Tax Fund was refocused to its original purpose of an intervention agency to develop tertiary institutions in Nigeria. Osodeke added, “ASUU is seriously worried that the education tax, called development levy, used to bankroll TETFund’s programmes is about to be ceded to the newly established Nigerian Education Loan Fund.
” The proposal to divest the education levy from TETFund to a student loan agency meant for a few students betrays logic. This highlights a fundamental misunderstanding of education’s role in national progress. Since its inception, TETFund has built new lecture theatres and research centres, renovated old ones, and completed abandoned structures across tertiary institutions in the country.
It has leveraged the tertiary education tax, which is 2.5 to 3.0 per cent of accessible profit deducted from corporate entities, to deliver support grants to researchers, and provide scholarships to eligible students, including master’s and doctoral students.
Between January and June 2023, TETFund disbursed N1.6 billion for library development intervention, N445 million to convert several academic manuscripts into accessible books, and N430 million for academic research journal intervention in tertiary institutions. Related News Sokoto varsity ASUU suspends indefinite strike Sokoto accuses ASUU of destabilising education, seeks return to classrooms ASUU declares indefinite strike, shuts Sokoto varsity As of 2024, it had funded 5,525 physical projects nationwide.
In 2024, the Federal Government approved N643.4 billion for disbursement for beneficiary tertiary institutions — the highest since its inception. Its Executive Secretary, Sunny Echono, disclosed that the fund would be used to provide career centres and units in all beneficiary institutions, develop skills in polytechnics, and allocate funds for teaching practice in COEs while providing hostels, innovation hubs, security infrastructure, and completion of abandoned projects.
The student loan scheme is a different project from TETFund. Many Nigerian students, especially in the South-West and South-East, continue to exude scepticism towards it. Student loans are optional, but well-trained teachers, and a conducive environment to learn, research, and innovate should be the norm.
Those pushing for the obliteration of TETFUND are not serving the interests of Nigeria; they are sabotaging the country’s future by stifling human capacity development. The government must find alternative ways to sustain NELFUND rather than dismantling a crucial educational funding mechanism. Tertiary education remains a necessity for national development, requiring sustained and substantial investment.
In China, India, and South Korea, significant investments in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics education have propelled them to global economic leadership. Even in capitalist economies, the government recognises its responsibility in supporting education. Nigeria must do the same.
Unfortunately, education is caught in a cycle of poor funding, misplaced priorities, and government policies that seem intent on crippling rather than strengthening it. Nigeria’s budgetary allocation to education has consistently fallen below expectations. While the 2025 budget saw a marginal increase, it remains inadequate.
Education is not a mercantile commodity; it is a social service with far-reaching implications for economic growth, security, and technological advancement..
