ENHANCEMENT OF TERTIARY EDUCATION STANDARD: TETFUND SETS AGENDA FOR 2024

Nigerians woke up on New Year with the exhilarating news of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s signing of the N28.7 trillion 2024 budget into law.

As attention shifts to implementation of the budget, eyes of stakeholders in the education sector are gazed on the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund). Their reasons are valid – the intervention agency’s cardinal objective is to provide the badly needed funds to support tertiary education, provide scholarship and grants for staff to enhance the productivity and quality of higher education.

The Executive Secretary of the Fund, Arc. Sunny Echono, has set the ball rolling, indicating a significant increase in annual direct disbursements in response to improvement in tax collections.

This, he said, will translate to more projects in the nation’s tertiary institutions, even as he disclosed that over 70 projects spread across 17 tertiary institutions in 11 states across the country were commissioned in the out gone year.

Speaking at a recent engagement at the Fund’s headquarters in Abuja, the Executive Secretary applauded the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) for its diligent efforts in collecting the education taxes. He also said that its 2023 collection of education tax was the highest in a single year since inception.

The TETFund boss also attributed the high revenue to increases approved by the former and present administrations to 3 per cent of accessible profit and other factors diligently implemented by the FIRS in collaboration with the Fund.

Highlighting the areas of focus under the 2024 intervention programme, Arc. Echono stated that TETFund had budgeted a significant increase in annual direct disbursements in response to the improvement in tax collections.

According to him, 90.54 per cent of taxes generated is budgeted for direct disbursement and designated 6.5 per cent for some projects and 2.94 for stabilization to enable the fund to respond to emerging issues, all of which are subject to final distribution/approvals.

Echono expressed the Fund’s determination to deepen research, promote innovation and honing of skills, and encourage the discovery and development of creative talents amongst scholars and especially the students as a major pillar of the renewed hope agenda of the present administration.

“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