The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has raised concerns over the federal government’s move to stop funding the education sector through the Nigeria tax reforms bills 2024 before the National Assembly.
Zonal coordinator ASUU-Kano zone, Professor Abdulkadir Muhammad, told a press conference in Kano that “the move to kill the Tertiary Education Fund (TETFUND) through the tax reforms” is a clandestine attempt by the federal government to invariably abolish the fund and replace it with the newly established Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).
“ASUU notes with serious concern, Section 59(3) of the Nigeria Tax Bill (NTB) 2024, which specifically states that only 50% of the development levy would be made available to TETFUND in 2025 and 2026, while NITDA, NASENI and NELFUND would share the remaining percentage. TETFUND would also receive ‘66.67% in 2027, 2028 and 2029 years of assessment’ but ‘0% in 2030 year of assessment’ and thereafter,” the coordinator said.
Muhammad said TETFUND is ASUU’s brain child when the union sometimes in 1992 accepted the challenge thrown at it by the Babangida military regime to propose sustainable means of funding Nigeria’s public education and ASUU’s recommendations culminated into the creation of Education Tax Fund (ETF) that later metamorphosed into TETfund in 2011.
He said the fund had been financing physical infrastructure, library development, research, staff training and development, conference attendance in the Nigerian universities.
He also drew the attention of state governors that the tax reforms bills should not be about VAT sharing alone as TETFund had been supporting states owned universities with physical infrastructure, leaving states government to be paying salaries only.
The union said it would engage critical stakeholders including the National Assembly to ensure that the section in the bill that deals with TETFund is not passed, asking Nigerians to prevail on the government to be responsible for funding Nigeria’s education.
It said it would think of the next line of action if the engagement failed.
Ahmadu Bello University Zaria (ABU), Bayero University Kano (BUK), Kaduna State University (KASU), Aliko Dangote University of Science and technology Wudil, Federal University Dutse, Yusuf Maitama Suke University, Kano and Sule Lamido University Kafin Hausa, made up the ASUU-Kano zone.
