BY ANKELI EMMANUEL, Sokoto
Worried by the contents of the new proposed tax bill that is before the National Assembly, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Sokoto Zone has warned that it was simply nothing short of a calculated attempt to abrogate the most cherished Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETfund).
Registering their displeasure with the development at a
press conference held in Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Sokoto Secretariat, Wednesday, the ASUU Sokoto Zonal Coordinator, Comrade Abubakar Sabo decried that, the overall plan is to cripple the nation’s education.
Giving reasons for their position, ASUU said, “”Section 59(3) of the proposed tax bill specifically stipulates that only 50% of the Development Levy would be allocated to TETfund in the years 2025 and 2026, with NITDA, NASEMI and NELFUND sharing the remaining percentage. TETfund is scheduled to receive 66.7% in the years 2027, 2028 and 2029 of assessment, but 0% in the year 2030 of the assessment and thereafter””.
Continuing, Prof Musa said, “”It is evidently clear that the tax bill proposes the abolition of the Education Tax which consequently implies that the Education tax refered to as the Development Levy and utilized to finance TETfund’s initiatives would be redirected to the recently established Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).
While stating that should the tax reform bill is not opposed, it will therefore lead to stoppage of money to TETfund and directed to NELFUND from 2030.
On why TETfund is still very crucial to the development of tertiary institutions in Nigeria, Prof Sabo affirmed that, TETFund had been the cornerstone of not only infrastructural development, but postgraduate training, research and capacity enhancement in Nigeria’s public tertiary institutions over the past 15 years.
“Therefore, diverting any portion of the education tax to serve another agency not stipulated in the TETFund Act of 2011 is unlawful and should not be condoned,” Prof Sabo advised lawmakers and Nigerians.
He therefore submitted that, the technical refusal to allocate revenue to TETfund from 2030 in the guise of urging the agency to explore alternative sources of generating revenue was not only deceptive but a clear intent to dismantle TETfund from 2030 upwards.
“TETFund currently provides support to 244 public tertiary institutions in Nigeria, comprising 96 universities , 72 polytechnics and 76 colleges of education””, Prof Sabo reminded Nigerians.
