The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Akure Zone, has strongly opposed the proposed eradication of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) as outlined in the 2024 Nigeria Tax Bill currently under review by the National Assembly.
At a press conference held on Tuesday at the University of Medical Sciences, Ondo State, ASUU Akure Zone Chairperson, Prof. Adeola Egbedokun, criticized provisions in the bill that propose significant reductions to TETFund’s allocation. The bill suggests that from 2025 to 2026, only 50% of education tax will go to TETFund, with a complete cessation of allocations by 2030.
Egbedokun expressed concern over the implications of such measures, labeling them a direct threat to tertiary education in Nigeria. “The phasing out of TETFund will halt infrastructure and academic development while pressuring institutions into charging exorbitant tuition fees,” he warned.
The union also rejected the replacement of TETFund with a proposed National Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), arguing that it could transform public universities into revenue-generating entities and saddle students with unsustainable debt.
Egbedokun stressed that TETFund has played a vital role in improving physical infrastructure and staff capacity across Nigeria’s tertiary institutions, describing the fund as “indispensable to Nigeria’s educational system.”
ASUU urged the National Assembly to reject any provisions in the Nigeria Tax Bill that undermine TETFund’s existence. The union also called on education stakeholders and the general public to unite in preserving TETFund, labeling its survival as a matter of national importance.
Egbedokun concluded, “Any attempt to repeal the TETFund Act 2011 would be a profound disservice to Nigeria’s education sector and the nation at large.”
