Funmi Lawrence
The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) says it disbursed N208 billion as total allocation for 2019 tertiary institutions fund.
Prof. Suleiman Bogoro, the Executive Secretary of TETFund disclosed this at the annual meeting between him and the heads of TETFund beneficiary institutions, on Thursday in Abuja.
Bogoro said that the Fund has disbursed N826, 684, 392.00 for each university, each polytechnic received N566, 701, 842. 00 and each Colleges of Education received N542, 226, 346.00.
He said that 18 institutions were also drawn from six geopolitical zones in the country for special high impact interventions.
Bogoro added that the 18 institutions who were critically selected in line with the provided guidelines would receive N5 billion for the intervention.
He said that ” The six Universities will receive N3 billion, N1 billion for the six Polytechnics and N1 billion for six Colleges of Education”.
TETFund said that the Fund has strived to ensure that the beneficiary institutions who are recipients of the education tax utilize them judiciously.
” This has been done through our monitoring of projects and programmes approved for them by Board of Trustees.
” The Fund had undergone some internal restructuring and realignment for better and efficient service delivery” he said.
According to Bogoro, a total of 55 Colleges of Education have benefited from micro teaching laboratory, construction and furnishing.
TETFund boss added that the sum of N19, 977, 522, 916.59 had successfully been disbursed between January and June 2019 for physical infrastructure and library interventions.
He raised the issue of stranded scholars abroad which caused the nation and the fund embarrassment had been revisited promptly.
Bogoro, however, noted that appropriate steps have been undertaken by the Fund to eliminate the lapses that led to the situation.
Meanwhile, Prof. Abubakar Rasheed, Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC) commended TETFund in the role played in ensuring the development of the country especially as it concerns physical infrastructure in tertiary institutions.
Rasheed, however, noted that the rising number of tertiary institutions was a challenge which reduces interventions to the institutions.
He added that in 2019, the country has the largest number of intervention of the institution as more institutions were created.
According to him, Nigeria needs more Universities, Polytechnics and Colleges of Education but TETFund also needs to be protected so that the volume of intervention can be protected.
” The rising number of institutions is a challenge. Nigeria needs more institutions of tertiary education to provide more access to quality education.
” But TETFund is also worry that with many institutions, the value of its intervention is minimised.”
Rasheed, therefore, called on administrators of the various institutions to efficiently and successfully administer the funds while also urging them to be proactive in the processing of the fund.
He also called on Chief Executives of the institutions to engage other officials in their various institutions on utilisation of the fund.
It would be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari approved N161billion for varsities, others as 2018 Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) intervention budget for 2019 intervention activities in accordance with the provisions of TETFund Act 2011
Each public university in Nigeria got an allocation of N785,832,700; Polytechnic gets N536,703,502; and College of Education will get N510,084,900.
