TETFund’s Executive Secretary, Sonny Echono, revealed the record-breaking figure during a stakeholder engagement in Abuja. He attributed the rise to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s approval last year to increase the tax rate from 2.5 per cent to 3 per cent.
Echono explained that the funds generated from the education tax are vital in supporting infrastructure improvements, enhancing academic programmes, and making education more accessible to students from various backgrounds.
He stated, “The increase last year, in the Education Tax from 2.5 per cent to 3 per cent – authorised by the Commander-in-Chief, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, represents a significant stride for TETFund. This change, culminating in a record-breaking Education Tax collection of approximately N1.5 trillion so far this year, reinforces the government’s dedication to strengthening Nigeria’s educational framework.
“We now enter the 2025 budget cycle with a stronger foundation, one that allows us to enhance our impact across the country’s tertiary institutions.
“At this juncture, the fund wishes to extend our appreciation to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), which has been our able and reliable partner from inception to date, for its steadfastness and diligence in ensuring the timely and transparent collection of funding accrued from the Education Tax in our beloved nation to propel our tertiary institutions towards global recognition and excellence.”
He also noted that this year has been significant for TETFund, including the appointment of the awaited Board of Trustees, chaired by former Katsina State Governor Aminu Masari, who, along with the board, is guiding the agency towards greater impact.
Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, highlighted the need to use the backlog of unspent funds allocated to tertiary education, warning that letting these resources go stagnant could impede the sector’s development. He encouraged university leaders to take a proactive approach in securing their future.
Osodeke cautioned that proposed tax changes affecting TETFund could seriously impact funding for Nigerian universities, stressing the need to oppose these changes if education is to remain a priority.
He remarked, “I want to say that we have a lot of problems. If we don’t work hard, we cannot be sitting here in the next six years; nobody will be here in the next six years.
“Whether we will be here or not in the next six years will depend on the National Assembly. I am so happy the Senate and the House of Representatives are here. The information available to us as a union is that there are two sets of Bills in the National Assembly.
“One from the Executive and one from the Legislature; all concerning TETFund. TETFund is just there. And the one from the Executive arm of government indicates a page. Out of 260 tax reviews, it is just a page in it. I am very sure the President will not have the details to look at that when he is reading.”
