The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has criticized the Tax Reform Bills, which propose the abolition of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).
ASUU President, Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, warned that scrapping TETFund would devastate Nigeria’s public education system and perpetuate inequality by denying underprivileged children access to quality education.
Speaking during an interview with Channels TV on Thursday, Professor Osodeke expressed concern that the federal government introduced the bill to the National Assembly without consulting stakeholders in the education sector.
“The only source of funding is from TETFund, so when you destroy it, you have destroyed public universities.
“TETFund is a product of ASUU. You can’t make the tax laws without meeting with ASUU for inputs before proposing it before the National Assembly.
“The Vice Chancellors were not consulted, Pro Chancellors were not consulted. The people sat down somewhere and said over the next five years let’s scrap it without consulting those who initiated this bill that has transformed Nigerian public universities. That’s not how to work in a system. That’s not how to run a country that is democratic,” Osodeke said.
Osodeke disclosed that the plan was to replace TETFund with the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND). He advised the federal government to seek another way of funding NELFUND, suggesting deducting from the Value Added Tax (VAT)
“Let that Act that was initiated in 1993 that has transformed all Nigerian universities, allow it to stay. If you want to drive NELFUND, go and look for ways to fund it. Don’t take from the one that is in existence to fund it.
“Take 1% or 2% of VAT to fund NELFUND. Don’t take from Peter to pay Peter. Go and look for ways to fund NELFUND.
“When you go around all Nigerian universities, polytechnics and colleges of education today, 90% of the physical structures you have there are products of this struggle for TETFUND.
“But this tax bill is saying that by the year 2030, it should be scrapped and merged with NASENI and NITDA and then reduced to 2%,” he stressed.