President Muhammadu Buhari has approved N320.3 billion for the country’s public tertiary institutions’ 2023 intervention funds.
This information was provided by Sonny Echono, executive secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), on Wednesday in Abuja at the annual strategic planning session for the Fund with all heads of beneficiary institutions.
He claims that since the fund’s inception, the approved amount represents the greatest distribution to each beneficiary institution.
The conference, according to Echono, was a chance to get input and assess how well its intervention lines were carrying out the agency’s purpose.
The TETFund boss explained that the 2023 intervention cycle will see each university receiving N.1 billion; Polytechnic – N699 million, while each College of Education would get N800.8 million.
“I am pleased to inform you that Mr. President has approved the 2023 disbursement guidelines in the total sum of N320,345,040, 835. Based on this, each university shall get, for the Year 2023 intervention cycle, the total sum of N1.1 billion,” he said.
“This comprises N954.7 million as annual direct disbursement and N200 million as zonal intervention. Similarly, each Polytechnic shall get N699.3 million comprising of N569.3 million as annual direct disbursement and N130million as zonal intervention, while each College of education shall get N800,862,602 comprising of N670,862,602.00 as annual direct disbursement and N130million as zonal intervention.”
Echono added that the tertiary education landscape in Nigeria has significantly improved under the leadership of President Buhari, noting that from 2015 to the present (8 years) a total of N1.702 trillion has been distributed as education tax collections to public universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education, compared to a total of N1.249 trillion distributed from the Fund’s inception in 1993 up to 2014 (21 years).
“This remarkable success is due to sustained efforts at expanding and increasing the efficiency of collection of the Education Tax and added impetus is the gracious approval of M.r President for an increase in education tax from 2.0% to 2.5% in the year 2021,” he added.
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