Replacing TETFund with NELFUND Will Cripple Universities, ASUU Warns FG

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has cautioned the Federal Government against its proposal to replace the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) with the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), stating that such a decision would cripple public universities and harm tertiary education in Nigeria.

ASUU President, Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, issued the warning during an appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Thursday.

He described TETFund as the cornerstone of funding for public universities over the past three decades, warning that its dissolution would collapse the sector.

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

The ASUU leader accused some members of the political elite of deliberately working to destroy public universities to deny access to education for underprivileged children.

“They want to destroy public universities and ensure that the children of the poor remain slaves,” he alleged.

Osodeke criticised the new tax bills introduced by President Bola Tinubu’s administration, claiming they were developed without consulting major stakeholders in the education sector, including ASUU, Vice Chancellors, and Pro Chancellors.

“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 argued.

He explained that TETFund, financed through consolidated revenue from company income tax, has played a critical role in constructing 90% of the physical infrastructure in universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education across Nigeria.

According to Osodeke, the tax bill proposes merging TETFund with other agencies, such as NASENI and NITDA, which would weaken its effectiveness and ultimately lead to its elimination by 2030.

He urged the government to identify alternative funding sources for NELFUND, suggesting a portion of Value Added Tax (VAT) as a viable option.

“Let that act that was initiated in 1993 that has transformed all Nigerian universities stay. If you want to drive NELFUND, go and look for ways to fund it. Don’t take from the one that is in existence to fund it. Take 1% or 2% of VAT to fund NELFUND. Don’t take from Peter to pay Paul. Go and look for ways to fund NELFUND,” Osodeke advised.

Highlighting TETFund’s impact, he stated, “When you go around all Nigerian universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education today, 90% of the physical structures you have there are products of this struggle for TETFUND. But this tax bill is saying that by the year 2030, it should be scrapped and merged with NASENI and NITDA and then reduced to 2%.”

Osodeke stressed that dismantling TETFund to fund NELFUND would undermine the advancements achieved in Nigerian tertiary education and would represent a significant setback.