The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) in the last ten years has benefitted an estimated 1.36 trillion naira from the government for the development and advancement of the educational sector in Nigeria. However, reports from NEITI and other investigations have shown that the fund does not have a comprehensive accounting and operational manual hence, there is an insufficient guide for accounting and operations’ processes.
Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND)
The Tertiary Education Trust Fund TETFUND is an educational fund established to administer the 2% of assessable profit collected by FIRS from taxable companies registered in Nigeria. The beneficiaries of these funds are educational institutions. TETFUND came into existence in 2011 after it metamorphosed from the Education Trust Fund (ETF) which was established in 1993. The fund (TETFUND), was established under the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (Establishment), Act, 2011 which repealed education tax Act Cap E4 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 and Education tax Fund (Amendment) Act No. 17, 2003. It came to effect in June 2011 with the mandate to engage in the rehabilitation, restoration and consolidation of tertiary education in Nigeria.
As an intervention agency, the institution has been responsible for ensuring that the objectives of the public tertiary institutions in the country are met through the provision of necessary resources.
Allocation to TETFUND
Two separate reports by NEITI on TETFUND spanning 5-year periods (2007-2011 and 2012-2016) have shown that over N1.3 trillion has been allocated to the intervention agency. The first report showed the total revenue received by the TETFUND from 2007 to 2011 was N366 billion.
TETFUND ALLOCATION 2007 – 2016
The second report showed the total revenue received by the TETFUND from 2012 to 2016 was N993 billion with N805 billion received from Mineral Revenue while N188 billion was received from Non-mineral.
Utilization of TETFUND
The Funds allotted to TETFUND are to be utilized for the provision of the following:
- Building or provision of essential physical infrastructure for teaching and learning
- Provision of Instructional materials and equipment
- Provision of Researches and publications
- Academic staff training and development and provision of any other need which, in the opinion of the Board of Trustees, is critical and essential for the improvement of quality and maintenance of standards in the higher educational institutions
Furthermore, other than the provision of funds for the concerns listed above, TETFUND also assists in the facilitation of every project it funds, that is in the monitoring and execution of every project.
Transparency and accountability of TETFUND
Assessment of the impact of TETFUND, or the projects carried out by TETFUND isn’t readily available, and multiple reports have recommended audits of the utilization of the funds by the government. There is also the issue of state government and governors interfering in the utilization of the funds. The recent NEITI report was unable to verify the income received from various sources by the agency and unable to evaluate the utilization of the Funds.
The agency’s secretary Prof. Suleiman Bogoro admitted, “In the 20 years of its interventions, the Fund had never presented itself for self-evaluation or examination, (and the) impact assessment which we are about to undertake is a contemporary phenomenon for reviewing and assessing progress made by any organization”. He further tasked the 62-man committee set up for the assessment of the fund till date to submit its findings by the 29th of November 2019.
Furthermore, an investigation supported by International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR) showed how there were secrecy and lack of transparency and accountability in the processes of awarding contracts, which resulted in poor implementation of projects. The investigation also shows how this flagrant disregard for a due process created a backlog of funds not collected by various institutions, hence, discounting the grants to Universities.
The Way forward
Various recommendations have been made by NEITI which includes educating state governors on the development goals of the TETFUND and discouraging the state government’s interference in the utilization of the funds. Creating prototypes and templates of intervention projects across the board for all beneficiaries of the fund was also suggested, in order to have a uniform standard for project execution.
Beyond the ongoing assessment of the fund, there is a need for a thorough audit of the fund from inception till date by the federal authorities, a stance shared with NEITI.
We also believe a periodic publication of the accounts and activities of TETFUND, bi-annually or quarterly would improve transparency and accountability in the agency and strengthen its rapport with the larger public.