By Ngozi Nwankwo
President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government has approved a whopping sum of N320,345,040, 835. (Three hundred and twenty billion, three hundred and forty-five million, forty thousand, eight hundred and thirty five Naira only) as the 2023 intervention funds for public tertiary education institutions in the country.
Executive Secretary of Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Arc. Sonny Echono, disclosed this in Abuja on Wednesday, during the Fund’s annual strategic planning workshop with all heads of beneficiary institutions.
Echono said the meeting was an avenue to receive feedback and evaluate the performance of its intervention lines to enhance a more robust delivering of the agency’s mandate.
According to the TETFund boss, the 2023 intervention cycle will see each university receiving N1,154,732,133.00 ; Polytechnic – N699,344,867.00, while each College of Education would get N800,862,602.
His words : “I am pleased to inform you that Mr. President has approved the 2023 disbursement guidelines in the total sum of N320,345,040, 835. (Three hundred and twenty billion, three hundred and forty-five million, forty thousand, eight hundred and thirty five Naira only). On the basis of this, each university shall get, for the Year 2023 intervention cycle, the total sum of N1,154,732,133.00.
“This comprises N954,732,123.00 as annual direct disbursement and N200million as zonal intervention. Similarly, each Polytechnic shall get N699,344,867.00 comprising of N569,344,807.00 as annual direct disbursement and N130million as zonal intervention, while each College of education shall get N800,862,602 comprising of N670,862,602.00 as annual direct disbursement and N130million as zonal intervention.
“It is pertinent to note that this represents the highest disbursement to each beneficiary institution, since inception of the Fund.”
Echono further said the fortunes of the Nigerian tertiary education sector has improved significantly under the Buhari’s administration, saying that between 2015 to date (8 years), the total sum of N1.702 trillion has been disbursed as education tax collection to public universities, polytechnics and colleges of education compared to a total sum of N1.249trillion disbursed from the inception of the Fund in 1993 up to 2014 (21 years).
“This remarkable success is due to sustained efforts at expanding and increasing efficiency of collection of the Education Tax and added impetus is the gracious approval of Mr. President for an increase in education tax from 2.0% to 2.5% in the year 2021,” he added.
Echono also urged Buhari, as a parting gift to the education sector, to give his assent to Finance Bill 2023, which provides for a further increase in education tax from 2.5% to 3%.
Also speaking, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, David Adejo urged the beneficiary institutions to use the intervention judiciously, saying that the country is no longer looking for paper presentations but what one can do with his brain and hands.