N2.5tr Spent On Varsities, Others In 10 Years, Says Fed Govt

*Tetfund Eyes N500b Education Tax Collection

The Federal Government has said it spent N2.5 trillion on
infrastructure and staff development in public universities,
polytechnics and colleges of education in the last 10 years through
the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).

Chairman of TETFund’s Board of Trustees (BoT), Kashim
Ibrahim-Imam, said this yesterday at the third edition of tax
payers’ forum with the theme: TETFund Intervention: Catalyst for
Transforming Tertiary Education in Nigeria, in Lagos.

He said the agency had set a target of collecting more than N500
billion education tax by 2023.

The BoT chairman stressed that for this year alone, TETFund
budgeted N300 billion for over 226 higher institutions across the
country.

He said the agency had budgeted N120 billion to education in
2020, adding that this was increased to N300 billion in 2021.

Ibrahim-Imam urged the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to
increase the education tax collection to N500 billion in the next
two years.

According to him, more than N30 billon was set aside for
academic workers’ training in various institutions across the
country.

The TETFund BoT chairman promised to ensure an increase in
interventions to beneficiary institutions by 50 per cent in 2022
and 100 per cent in the next two years.

Dignitaries at the meeting included Lagos State Governor
Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who was represented by his deputy, Dr. Olufemi
Hamzat, as well as academics, captains of industries, and other
stakeholders.

Sanwo-Olu said funding for the Education sector must be
prioritised, adding that TETFund was established to intervene in
the ailing university system.

The governor noted that Nigerian universities would have been
worse than they are currently without TETFund.

He urged private companies across Nigeria to be consistent in
their remittances and charged TETFund to create a Silicon Valley
for Nigeria and focus on how to take research to the market.

Ibrahim-Imam told the meeting that in response to the acute
shortage of hostels in universities across the country, TETFund’s
BoT had approved the construction of 160,000 additional bed spaces
in higher institutions across the country.

Education Minister Adamu Adamu, who was represented by the
Pro-Chancellor of University of Benin (UNIBEN), Dr. Sonny Kuku,
praised the stakeholders for their contributionsn to tertiary
institutions.

He assured them of Federal Government’s determination to
transform public tertiary institutions across Nigeria.

TETFund’s Executive Secretary, Prof. Suleiman Bogoro, said the
forum was meant to honour and identify individuals and companies
that had contributed to education through consistent payment of
education tax as well as the development of education and the
nation.

He explained that the two per cent education tax is remitted
annually by companies through the FIRS to TETFund for allocation
and onward disbursement to beneficiary institutions across the
country.

Bogoro said the education tax, over the years, had been
channeled into different activities and areas in line with the
mandate of the fund, as enshrined in its establishment Act.

He said: “Infrastructure has been given special attention in
this regard, because of its decay and collapse across public
tertiary institutions in Nigeria at the onset.

“A careful observation will reveal that the fund has, between
January and December 2020 alone, carried out 16,982 various
infrastructure projects across beneficiary institutions.

“Considering the projects carried out since inception, based on
annual allocation to institutions over the years, 2011 to 2021, it
is estimated that a total of over 152,838 various infrastructure
projects have been carried out across various public tertiary
institutions.

“These projects include construction of lecture theatres,
classrooms, hostels, offices, laboratories, road networks and
fencing of institutions in different parts of the country. Tertiary
institutions across the country are dotted with TETFund projects
which bear the insignia of the fund distinctly inscribed on each
project.

“Additionally, we have sponsored over 10,632 lecturers in the
local Ph.D. programme, over 9,072 lecturers in the local Master’s
degree programme across the country between 2011 and year 2020.

“The fund has also sponsored well over 4,485 lecturers to
overseas institutions for Ph.D. programmes and over 3,192 Master’s
degree candidates also overseas, across tertiary institutions
within the same period.

“The fund has further supported 71,263 lecturers in Federal and
state colleges of education under its Teacher Supervision
Programme, bringing to a total of 98,644 the number of academic
workers across public tertiary institutions that have benefited
from the academic staff training and development programme of the
fund.”

*Tetfund Eyes N500b Education Tax Collection

The Federal Government has said it spent N2.5 trillion on
infrastructure and staff development in public universities,
polytechnics and colleges of education in the last 10 years through
the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).

Chairman of TETFund’s Board of Trustees (BoT), Kashim
Ibrahim-Imam, said this yesterday at the third edition of tax
payers’ forum with the theme: TETFund Intervention: Catalyst for
Transforming Tertiary Education in Nigeria, in Lagos.

He said the agency had set a target of collecting more than N500
billion education tax by 2023.

The BoT chairman stressed that for this year alone, TETFund
budgeted N300 billion for over 226 higher institutions across the
country.

He said the agency had budgeted N120 billion to education in
2020, adding that this was increased to N300 billion in 2021.

Ibrahim-Imam urged the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to
increase the education tax collection to N500 billion in the next
two years.

According to him, more than N30 billon was set aside for
academic workers’ training in various institutions across the
country.

The TETFund BoT chairman promised to ensure an increase in
interventions to beneficiary institutions by 50 per cent in 2022
and 100 per cent in the next two years.

Dignitaries at the meeting included Lagos State Governor
Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who was represented by his deputy, Dr. Olufemi
Hamzat, as well as academics, captains of industries, and other
stakeholders.

Sanwo-Olu said funding for the Education sector must be
prioritised, adding that TETFund was established to intervene in
the ailing university system.

The governor noted that Nigerian universities would have been
worse than they are currently without TETFund.

He urged private companies across Nigeria to be consistent in
their remittances and charged TETFund to create a Silicon Valley
for Nigeria and focus on how to take research to the market.

Ibrahim-Imam told the meeting that in response to the acute
shortage of hostels in universities across the country, TETFund’s
BoT had approved the construction of 160,000 additional bed spaces
in higher institutions across the country.

Education Minister Adamu Adamu, who was represented by the
Pro-Chancellor of University of Benin (UNIBEN), Dr. Sonny Kuku,
praised the stakeholders for their contributionsn to tertiary
institutions.

He assured them of Federal Government’s determination to
transform public tertiary institutions across Nigeria.

TETFund’s Executive Secretary, Prof. Suleiman Bogoro, said the
forum was meant to honour and identify individuals and companies
that had contributed to education through consistent payment of
education tax as well as the development of education and the
nation.

He explained that the two per cent education tax is remitted
annually by companies through the FIRS to TETFund for allocation
and onward disbursement to beneficiary institutions across the
country.

Bogoro said the education tax, over the years, had been
channeled into different activities and areas in line with the
mandate of the fund, as enshrined in its establishment Act.

He said: “Infrastructure has been given special attention in
this regard, because of its decay and collapse across public
tertiary institutions in Nigeria at the onset.

“A careful observation will reveal that the fund has, between
January and December 2020 alone, carried out 16,982 various
infrastructure projects across beneficiary institutions.

“Considering the projects carried out since inception, based on
annual allocation to institutions over the years, 2011 to 2021, it
is estimated that a total of over 152,838 various infrastructure
projects have been carried out across various public tertiary
institutions.

“These projects include construction of lecture theatres,
classrooms, hostels, offices, laboratories, road networks and
fencing of institutions in different parts of the country. Tertiary
institutions across the country are dotted with TETFund projects
which bear the insignia of the fund distinctly inscribed on each
project.

“Additionally, we have sponsored over 10,632 lecturers in the
local Ph.D. programme, over 9,072 lecturers in the local Master’s
degree programme across the country between 2011 and year 2020.

“The fund has also sponsored well over 4,485 lecturers to
overseas institutions for Ph.D. programmes and over 3,192 Master’s
degree candidates also overseas, across tertiary institutions
within the same period.

“The fund has further supported 71,263 lecturers in Federal and
state colleges of education under its Teacher Supervision
Programme, bringing to a total of 98,644 the number of academic
workers across public tertiary institutions that have benefited
from the academic staff training and development programme of the
fund.”