President Muhammadu Buhari has approved ₦320.3 billion as the 2023 Intervention Funds for the country’s public tertiary education institutions.
Sonny Echono, Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), made the announcement on Wednesday in Abuja, during the Fund’s annual strategic planning workshop with all heads of beneficiary institutions.
Echono stated that the meeting was an opportunity to receive feedback and evaluate the performance of its intervention lines in order to improve the agency’s mandate delivery.
According to the TETFund’s CEO, each university will receive ₦1,154,732,133.00 in the 2023 intervention cycle; Polytechnics will receive ₦699,344,867.00, and Colleges of Education will receive ₦800,862,602.
His said, “I am pleased to inform you that Mr. President has approved the 2023 disbursement guidelines in the total sum of ₦320,345,040, 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 ₦1,154,732,133.00.
“This comprises ₦954,732,123.00 as annual direct disbursement and N200million as zonal intervention. Similarly, each Polytechnic shall get ₦699,344,867.00 comprising of ₦569,344,807.00 as annual direct disbursement and ₦130million as zonal intervention, while each College of education shall get ₦800,862,602 comprising of ₦670,862,602.00 as annual direct disbursement and ₦130million as zonal intervention.
“It is pertinent to note that this represents the highest disbursement to each beneficiary institution, since inception of the Fund.”
Echono went on to say that the fortunes of Nigeria’s tertiary education sector have improved significantly under Buhari’s administration, claiming that ₦1.702 trillion has been disbursed as education tax collection to public universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education between 2015 and date (8 years), compared to ₦1.249 trillion disbursed from the Fund’s inception 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 sign Finance Bill 2023, which would increase education tax from 2.5% to 3%.
David Adejo, Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Education, urged the beneficiary institutions to use the intervention wisely.
He went on to say that the country is no longer interested in paper presentations, but rather in what one can do with his brain and hands.
