Tax bills: Safeguarding TETFund to foster tertiary education development

BY ADAGHER TERSOO

Nigeria’s tax system, with multiple complex taxes, hinders business compliance, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises, and fosters an informal sector prone to extortion. The current value-added tax (VAT) revenue distribution system also perpetuates regional disparities, sparking controversy over a proposed shift to a consumption-based VAT model.

The recent governors’ meeting, under the auspices of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF), recommended that there should be no terminal clause for TETFund, NASENI, and NITDA in the sharing of development levies in the bills.

According to NGF, “the meeting supported the continuation of the legislative process at the National Assembly that will culminate in the eventual passage of the Tax Reform Bills”.

The communique, signed by the chairman of the NGF and governor of Kwara state, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, stated: “My own emphasis on this patriotic duty of holding government accountable will focus on TETfund. Bearing in mind the vantage position the agency hold in our educational landscape.”

Conversely, the above recommendation by the NGF is a testament to purposeful leadership in display at TETFund. The reason is not far-fetched. TETFund has emerged as a pivotal force in Nigeria’s educational trajectory, making substantial contributions towards uplifting the quality of higher education, especially in the areas of infrastructure, and fostering innovation.

Considerably, there was public outcry by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), urging the federal government not to phase out TETFund, saying it has helped to transform tertiary educational institutions in Nigeria, in the last three decades which is germane and highly consequential.

At a press conference held at the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) Press Centre in Sokoto, the chairman of the ASUU Sokoto zone, Professor Abubakar Sabo, explained that suffocating the funding source of TETFund to run the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) would destroy public education in the country.

“The only source of funding is from TETFund, so when you destroy it, you have destroyed public universities,” Sabo stated.

He alleged that some members of the ruling class “want to destroy public universities and ensure that the children of the poor remain slaves”.

The ASUU chairman faulted the tax reform bills introduced by President Bola Tinubu’s administration. He said stakeholders were not consulted within the educational sector before the bills were sent to the National Assembly.

Sabo said: “TETFund is a product of ASUU. You can’t make the tax laws without meeting with ASUU for input before proposing them to the national assembly.

“The vice-chancellors were not consulted; Pro-chancellors were not consulted. The people sat down somewhere and said over the next five years let’s scrap it without consulting those who initiated this bill that has transformed Nigerian public universities.”

It is imperative that the Nigerian president listens and consults widely on the tax reform bill with emphasis on Tetfund because of its strategic initiatives and investments. TETFund has been instrumental in addressing crucial challenges, promoting research, and driving positive change across Nigerian universities and institutions.

TETFund was established in 2011 after the Education Trust Fund (ETF) Act of 1993 was repealed to enact the TetFund Act, with the primary objective of providing financial support to public tertiary institutions in Nigeria.

The agency was created as a response to the deteriorating state of infrastructure, inadequate funding, and limited research and development activities within the higher education sector. Recognising the critical role of education in national development, the Nigerian government under former President Goodluck Jonathan established TETFund to ensure sustainable funding and promote excellence in tertiary institutions.

Architect Sunny Enocho, the current executive secretary, has made significant contributions to position TETFund as a driving force in revolutionising education in Nigeria. It is commendable that Enocho, since his appointment, has continued to build and expand on the efforts of his predecessors while also pioneering some landmark initiatives for himself.

He has prioritised infrastructure development, research and innovation, equitable access, and accountability. His emphasis on improving physical infrastructure and promoting research activities has also enhanced learning and fostered groundbreaking research and innovations, such as the “Chord Hearing Device”.

Under his stewardship, TETFund embarked on a transformative journey to enhance its performance and deliver optimal results. The ES had led TETFund to forge valuable alliances with renowned institutions worldwide. Notable collaborations included establishing ties with the University of Brazil, Vicosa, facilitating transnational cooperation with the British government, engaging with the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), partnering with the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), and fostering collaboration with the African Union (AU). These partnerships focused on research and collaboration initiatives to foster the growth and development of tertiary education in Nigeria.

Additionally, Echono initiated the Digitization Project Steering and Coordinating Committee, a pivotal step toward creating a national research bank. This ambitious endeavour aimed to establish a comprehensive repository for academic work, facilitating easier access to valuable research resources.

By spearheading this project, TETFund demonstrated its commitment to embracing technology and innovation to streamline academic processes and promote knowledge sharing.

Also, Echono came with purposeful leadership, scrapping all the clogs in the wheel, and ensuring that TETFund lives up to expectations of delivering quality service to its primary constituency, the education sector. It may be factual that he necessarily not be an academic and has not made his home within the confines of it but he understands the peculiar issues in Nigeria’s tertiary education and education sector in general.

Given the state of affairs in the past, the ES made up his mind that under his watch TETFund would not be allowed to become a victim of mismanagement. He introduced several reforms at the agency to help drive effective service delivery by making the agency “work better and deliver on its mandate to the good people of Nigeria”.

As it stands, it is incumbent on all well-meaning Nigerians to lend their support towards safeguarding the country’s public tertiary institutions by canvassing for the sustainability of TETFund as a critical intervention agency in the nation’s education sector.

Adagher Tersoo is a public affairs analyst