The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has appealed to the Federal Government not to systemically phase out the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) which has “transformed” tertiary educational institutions in Nigeria in the last three decades.
ASUU has cautioned that undermining TETFund’s funding to support the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) would cripple public education in Nigeria.
Emmanuel Osodeke, ASUU President, stated on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Thursday, “TETFund is the only source of funding; if you destroy it, you are effectively destroying public universities.”
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 president faulted the Tax Bills introduced by the President Bola Tinubu administration saying that stakeholders were not consulted within the educational sector before the bills were sent to the National Assembly.
“TETFund is a product of ASUU. You can’t make the tax laws without meeting with ASUU for inputs before proposing it before 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. That’s not how to work in a system. That’s not how to run a country that is democratic,” he said.
Osodeke said rather than systematically phase out TETFund which derives its funding from consolidated revenue from company income tax, the government should bankroll the newly formed NELFUND from Value Added Tax (VAT).
