Author: philip
The Federal Government, under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari, has granted approval for the disbursement of N320,345,040,835 as intervention funds for public tertiary education institutions across Nigeria for the year 2023. The Executive Secretary of Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Arc. Sonny Echono, made the announcement during the agency’s annual strategic planning workshop in Abuja on Wednesday. The workshop served as a platform for receiving feedback and evaluating the performance of TETFund’s intervention programs, with the aim of enhancing the agency’s mandate delivery.”
In an official statement, the Executive Secretary of TETFund revealed that the upcoming 2023 intervention cycle will result in a significant increase in funding for Nigerian universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education. Under the new guidelines, each university will receive N1,154,732,133.00, while each polytechnic will receive N699,344,867.00 and each college of education will receive N800,862,602. This announcement comes after President Buhari approved the disbursement of N320,345,040,835.00 for the 2023 intervention cycle. The Executive Secretary expressed his satisfaction with the approval and stated that it would go a long way in addressing the funding challenges faced by tertiary institutions in Nigeria.
The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) has announced its annual disbursement of funds to Nigerian institutions, with a total of N954,732,123.00 allocated for direct disbursement and N200 million for zonal intervention. Each polytechnic is set to receive N699,344,867.00, consisting of N569,344,807.00 for annual direct disbursement and N130 million for zonal intervention. Similarly, each college of education will receive N800,862,602, comprising of N670,862,602.00 for annual direct disbursement and N130 million for zonal intervention. TETFund has emphasized that this marks the highest disbursement to each beneficiary institution since the fund’s inception
In a recent statement, Mr. Echono, a Nigerian education official, highlighted the significant improvements made to the country’s tertiary education sector under President Buhari’s administration. According to Echono, a total of N1.702 trillion has been disbursed between 2015 to date, which is a substantial increase compared to the N1.249 trillion disbursed between 1993 and 2014. This increase is attributed to the administration’s efforts to expand and improve the efficiency of education tax collection. Additionally, President Buhari’s approval for an increase in education tax from 2.0% to 2.5% in 2021 has further contributed to this success.
According to recent news, Mr. Echono has requested President Buhari to sign the Finance Bill 2023 as a parting gift to the education sector. The bill proposes an increase in education tax from 2.5% to 3%. Additionally, Mr. David Adejo, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Education, has encouraged institutions that receive the intervention to utilize it appropriately. He emphasized that the country is no longer interested in theoretical presentations but rather focuses on practical skills and creativity.
