FG gives green light to N683bn intervention fund for tertiary institutions

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has given his approval for the disbursement of N683,429,268 billion as the intervention funds for public tertiary education institutions in the country for the year 2024. This announcement was made by the Executive Secretary of Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Arc. Sonny Echono, during a strategic planning meeting with the heads of beneficiary institutions in Abuja.

Echono highlighted that this allocation is the highest ever to be disbursed since the establishment of the Fund. Out of the total amount, 90.75% is designated for direct disbursement, 8.94% for special projects, and 2.27% for stabilization purposes. Furthermore, it was revealed that each university will receive N1,906,944,930.00, each polytechnic N1,165,355,235.00, and each college of education N1,398,426,282.00 for the 2024 intervention cycle.

This year’s intervention funds have seen a significant increase compared to the previous year, where over N320 billion was disbursed. In the 2023 intervention cycle, universities received N1,154,732,133.00, polytechnics received N699,344,867.00, and colleges of education received N800,862,602.

Echono announced that the Year 2024 disbursement guidelines have been approved by the President, with a total sum of N683,429,268,402.64. Out of this amount, 90.75% is allocated for direct disbursement, 8.94% for designated special projects, and 2.27% for stabilization purposes.

The approval also includes the difference between actual collections and the projected collections for November and December 2023. As per the approval, each university will receive N1,906,944,930.00 for the Year 2024 intervention cycle, consisting of N1,656,944,930.00 as annual direct disbursement and N250 million as zonal intervention. Similarly, each Polytechnic will receive N1,165,355,235.00, with N1,015,355,235.00 as annual direct disbursement and N150 million as zonal intervention.

Each College of Education will receive N1,398,426,282.00, comprising of N1,248,426,282.00 as annual direct disbursement and N150 million as zonal intervention.

This increase in funding is a significant achievement and is attributed to the efforts in expanding and improving the efficiency of tax collection, as well as the President’s approval for an increase in the tax rate.

The key actors involved, including the Minister of Education, the Minister of Finance, the Senate and House Committees on TETFund, and the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Services, have been acknowledged for their unwavering support in enhancing the collection process.

He further emphasized that the meeting served as an opportunity to gather feedback and assess the effectiveness of our intervention strategies.

He urged all heads of institutions to ensure the smooth and timely implementation of the 2024 intervention allocation, emphasizing the need for judicious and effective utilization of funds to make a significant impact in our respective tertiary institutions.

Additionally, he advised that apart from the budget and project monitoring committee mentioned in the allocation letter, institutions should also consult with the community during the implementation of TETFund projects. This inclusive approach would help ensure the success of the projects.

Furthermore, he stressed the importance of timely payments to contractors and vendors to avoid delays in project completion and minimize complaints to the Fund. By addressing this issue, the incidence of contractors writing letters of complaints would be mitigated.

He took the opportunity to express gratitude to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his commitment to education development and to Prof. Tahir Mamman (SAN) for his leadership and prompt consideration of their requests.

According to Echono, the Annual Direct Disbursement includes new intervention lines such as the establishment of Career Centers/Units in all beneficiary institutions and Institution Based Skills development for Polytechnics.

Regarding the Special Direct Disbursements, he mentioned an increase in the allocation for the Special High Impact Programme (SHIP) and an increase in the number of benefitting institutions to two per geopolitical zone per category, totaling 36 beneficiary institutions.

He also highlighted other areas of Special Direct Disbursement, including provisions for Hostels through Public/Private Partnership, innovation hubs, Disaster Recovery, Security Infrastructure, Completion of abandoned projects, and more.

To address the challenges arising from the increase in exchange rates for scholars, provisions have been made to ensure their needs are met.