Tax Reform Bills: ASUU raises concern over FG plan to abolish TETFund
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has expressed concerned about the recent move by the Federal Government to abolish the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) through its unpopular tax reform bills.
SolaceBase reports that the lecturers said the Tax Reform Bill is a clandestine move by the Federal Government to invariably abolish TETFund and supplant it with the newly established Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).
Zonal Coordinator, ASUU-Kano Zone, Comrade Abdulkadir Muhammad outlined the position of the union on Wednesday, at a news conference held at Bayero University, Kano.
The ASUU-Kano Zone comprises Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria; Bayero University, Kano; Kaduna State University, Kaduna, Aliko Dangote University of Science and Technology, Wudil, Kano State; Federal University, Dutse, Jigawa State; Yusuf Maitama Sule University, Kano; and Sule Lamido University, Kafin Hausa, Jigawa State.
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Muhammad said the union 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.
According to him, ‘’TETFund would also receive “66.67% in 2027, 2028 and 2029 years of assessment” but “0% in 2030 year of assessment and thereafter”. Gentlemen of the press, recall that sometime in 1992, ASUU accepted a challenge thrown at it by the Babangida Military Regime to propose a sustainable means of funding Nigeria’s public education. ASUU’s recommendation culminated into the creation of the Education Tax Fund (ETF) in 1993.
‘’The ETF metamorphosed to TETFund through an Amendment Act No. 16 of 2011. Over the years, TETFund has been financing physical infrastructure, library development, research, staff training and development, conference attendance, and manuscript development, among others, in Nigeria’s public tertiary institutions.
In a very sad mood, the ASUU Zonal Coordinator explained that since its establishment, TETFund has arguably been the most successful agency in terms of providing interventions to education sector. He noted that the achievement recorded by TETFund is adjudged to surpass that of annual budgetary allocation to education, which has been consistently low over the years and has failed to address the critical needs of the Nigeria’s public tertiary institutions.
‘’It will surprise you all that even the budgetary allocation of education has never met the benchmark of 15–26% of total budget to education set by UNESCO, invariably, TETFund has been the only succour and major intervention relied on for the survival of public tertiary institutions in Nigeria,’’ he lamented.
‘’The impact of TETFund on the campus of every public tertiary institution in Nigeria is very glaring. Therefore, abolishing it will take public tertiary education many years back and subvert the modest gains in repositioning Nigerian public universities for global reckoning and transformative development. ‘’
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‘’The ASUU-Kano Zone has resolved not to fold its arms and watch the systematic killing of its brainchild (TETFund) that has over the years salvaged the Nigerian university system from imminent collapse.
‘’It is our humble view that the current clandestine move to abrogate the TETFund Act 2011 is unpopular, anti-poor, unpatriotic and, certainly, it is going to be destructive to the survival of public tertiary education in Nigeria.
‘’Therefore, the Zone calls on the National Assembly and the National Economic Council to use their constitutional powers to stop the enactment of this bill into law. The Zone also calls on well-meaning Nigerians and other stakeholders to prevail on the Federal Government of Nigeria to withdraw this bill with immediate effect.
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