Buhari approves N320.3bn intervention funds for varsities, others

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved N320.3 billion as the 2023 intervention funds for public tertiary education institutions in the country.

The Executive Secretary of Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Arc. Sonny Echono, disclosed this at the Fund’s annual strategic planning workshop with all heads of beneficiary institutions in Abuja on Wednesday.

Echono said 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.

He said: “I am pleased to inform you that Mr President has approved the 2023 disbursement guidelines in the total sum of N320,345,040,835.

“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 N200 million as zonal intervention.

“Similarly, each polytechnic shall get N699,344,867.00 comprising of N569,344,807.00 as annual direct disbursement and N130 million as zonal intervention, while each College of Education will get N800,862,602 comprising of N670,862,602.00 as annual direct disbursement and N130 million as zonal intervention.

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“It is pertinent to note that this represents the highest disbursement to each beneficiary institution, since inception of the Fund.”

The TETFund boss further stated that the fortunes of the Nigerian tertiary education sector has improved significantly under President Buhari’s administration, saying between 2015 to date (8 years), N1.702 trillion has been disbursed as education tax collection to public universities, polytechnics, and Colleges of Education compared to a total sum of N1.249 trillion disbursed from the inception of the Fund in 1993 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 the 2023 Finance Bill, which provides for a further increase in education tax from 2.5 per cent to 3 per cent.

On his part, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, David Adejo, urged the beneficiary institutions to use the intervention judiciously, saying the country is no longer looking for paper presentations but what one can do with his brain and hands.

The Star