The Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Sonny Echono, has announced a targeted intervention initiative for public tertiary institutions in the year 2024. The disclosure came during an interactive session with the heads of more than 200 beneficiary institutions in Abuja, where Echono sought their input into the draft disbursement guidelines for the upcoming intervention cycle.
Echono outlined the approved areas of intervention categorized into yearly direct disbursements and special interventions, emphasizing a commitment to enhancing the quality of tertiary education. Under the yearly direct disbursements, proposed areas of focus include the establishment of career centers for all beneficiary institutions and skills development programs tailored for polytechnics.
For special direct disbursements, Echono highlighted plans to increase allocation and extend the number of beneficiary institutions for the Special High Impact Programme (SHIP). Additionally, the fund aims to provide hostels for selected beneficiary institutions, sustain disaster recovery efforts, enhance security infrastructure, allocate funds for research, establish central multipurpose laboratories, and support agricultural laboratories/farms, among other initiatives.
Echono expressed satisfaction with the record-high collection of the Year 2023 Education tax, attributing it to the increased contributions approved by both former and current administrations. He commended the collaboration with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and urged its continuation for sustained growth in collection, aligning with the fund’s mission to fulfill the President’s commitment to the Nigerian people and advance the tertiary education sector for greater competitiveness and national development.
Highlighting progress made in addressing issues identified in the previous stakeholders’ meeting, Echono emphasized achievements in research and innovation, academic staff training and development, as well as manuscript and book development in institutions.
He outlined the disbursement process, indicating that funds would be allocated to universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education. In response, officials from the Ministry of Education, National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), and the National Commission for Colleges of Education stressed the importance of synergy to ensure TETFund delivers effectively on its mandate.
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