The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa has confirmed plans to whittle down the capacity of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund,  TETFund, and that it will not be funding new projects in 2025.

Instead, the focus will be on maintaining and upgrading existing infrastructure at tertiary institutions.

Alausa explained that this directive, which was issued by President Bola Tinubu, has already been communicated to TETFund Executive Secretary, Sonny Echono.

Alausa emphasized the government’s new approach, stating, “Our priority now is to fix the infrastructure we already have rehabilitate, improve, and bring them to a high standard.”

He further noted, “Enough of building new structures. I recently met with the TETFund Executive Secretary to clearly convey the president’s directives.”

In 2025, public universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education will allocate their intervention funds to the repair and rehabilitation of facilities such as hostels, lecture halls, auditoriums, laboratories, classrooms, and offices, rather than new buildings.

Alausa emphasized that TETFund has been effective in supporting the construction of new infrastructure across Nigeria’s tertiary institutions, but the focus will now shift to ensuring that every Naira invested is used effectively to maintain and upgrade existing facilities.

TETFund was established by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund Act of 2011 to manage and oversee the disbursement of a 3% education tax paid by all registered companies in Nigeria.

This was an increase from the original 2% rate under the Education Tax Act of 1993.

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The Fund plays a crucial role in funding capital projects at public universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education, especially as government funding for higher education continues to decline.

However, concerns have arisen about TETFund’s future.

The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has raised alarms over the potential impact of the Tax Reform Bill currently before the National Assembly.

ASUU warned that if the bill passes, it will reduce TETFund’s funding in the first two years, and could ultimately eliminate the Fund by 2030.

The union stressed that TETFund’s support has been vital for infrastructure development and academic training, and its reduction or elimination would have severe consequences for Nigerian higher education.

A key aspect of the proposed tax reform is the repeal of the current 3% education tax allocated to TETFund, replacing it with a flat 4% development levy that would be shared among multiple agencies, including TETFund, the National Information Technology Development Agency, the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure, and the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, NELFUND.

ASUU has criticized this shift, particularly the increased emphasis on student loans, fearing it could lead to higher tuition fees and greater financial strain on students.

The union argued that phasing out TETFund could severely damage the country’s tertiary education system, halting vital infrastructure and human capital development and pushing students into long-term debt.

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