Periscoping TETFund’s high impact interventions on tertiary institutions

The crises of funding the education sector gave birth to the establishment of Education Tax Fund (ETF) in 1993. The Fund has since metamorphosed to Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) and has spread its interventions beyond infrastructural development to other service areas. MARTIN PAUL writes that the High Impact Intervention on tertiary institutions has added more successes the Fund’s endeavours

Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), was by Act 16 of 2011, re-christened to concentrate its interventionist services on tertiary institutions across the country.
Until this time, the Fund was known as Education Trust Fund (ETF), where its mandate and responsibilities extended to primary and secondary school system.
Since inception, the Fund has been deriving it revenue from the two percent Education Tax and this is done through the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS) that also remit the amount, so collected to the account of the Fund.
In the beginning, the Fund was saddled with the responsibilities of revamping, rehabilitating and revatilising infrastructural facilities in tertiary institutions.
As time went on, the mandate increased to channeling the revenue to other areas of need in the university, polytechnics and colleges of education sectors.

The scope of distributing the two percent Education Tax is that 41 percent of fund realised should go to the universities, 30 to the polytechnics, while colleges of education should take 29 percent.
These distributions are central in physical infrastructure and equipment, library development academic staff training and development, where 10, 638 academic staff had been trained at masters and PhD levels, as at 2014.
The Fund also has book development fund, where the sum of N2 billion had been set aside as seed grant and the National Research Fund, where N3 billion had been earmarked for the project.
Journal publication is another area, which the Fund has been spending part of the revenue realised from companies and N2 billion is outstanding as seed grant.

As at last count, over 20, 359 domesticated and 2, 869 internationally academics and non-academic staff from various tertiary institutions, have benefited from the staff conference, while the Fund has also intervened in 84 academic journal publications and 22 manuscripts development.
Besides these, there is the High Impact Intervention, specifically created to inject funds into tertiary institutions to address peculiarities and improve on academic programmes and teaching and learning environment, among others.
At present, 25 institutions from the six geo-political zones of the country, drawn from the universities, polytechnics, colleges of education and the Nigerian Defence Academy, have benefited from the first phase of the high impact intervention.
Programmed for five phases, the first phase covered 13 public institutions with a total of N26.4 billion earmarked for it, while the second phase would cover 12 institutions with N24 billion slated for it.
In the third phase, a total of N10billion was budgeted for six institutions and N24 billion for 12 institutions in the fourth phase, while the fifth phase would attract 12 institutions for the N24 billion budget.

All these are tailored towards addressing peculiar problems in selected universities, polytechnics and colleges of education and although it could not go round every institution, a substantial number would benefit from the gesture.
The breakdown shows that, for the North Central states, in the first phase, University of Ilorin received N3billion, while Federal College of Education, Kontagora, Niger state, got N1.1 billion.
The North east, represented by University of Maiduguri, got N3 billion, while Federal College of Education (Technical) Gomde collected N1.1, followed by North west, with Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria benefiting with N3 billion and Kaduna Polytechnic, N1.2 billion and the Nigerian Defence Academy, N1.2  billion.

The south-east University of Nigeria, Nsukka, received N3 billion, while Akanu Ibiam Polytechnic, Uwana, Afikpo received N1.2 billion and University of Benin in the South-south got the same N3 billion along with Federal College of Education (Technical), Rivers state with N1.1 billion.
University of Ibadan, in the South-west, received N3 billion, just as Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH),  Lagos was given the sum of N1.2 billion under the high impact intervention programme.
With the N24 billion earmarked for the second phase, University of Jos, Abubakar Tafawa Belewa University, Bauchi, Bayero University, Kano Federal university of Technology, Owerri, University of Port Harcourt and Obaemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, received N3 billion each.

In the same way, Kogi state polytechnic, Lokoja, Federal polytechnic, Mubi, Adamawa state, Jigawa State College f Education, Gumel, Institute of management Technology, Enugu, Akwa Ibom State College of Education, Afaha Nsit and Adeyemi College of education, Ondo state, benefited with N1billion each.
For the third phase, only N10 billion was set aside and Usman Dan Fodio University, Sokoto and Niger Delta University, Amassoma, received N3 billion each, while Benue State Polytechnic, Umar Sulieman College of Education, Gashua, Yobe state, Abia State Polytechnic and Federal College of Education, Abeokuta got N1 billion each to round up the N10 billion.
Allocation for phase four rose to N24 billion and were to be disbursed to Benue State University, Makurdi, Modibbo Adama University, Yola, Adamawa state; Kebbi State University of Science and Technology, Aliero; Anambra State University Uli; University of Calabar and University of Lagos at N3 billion each.

Federal Polytechnic, Nasarawa, Bauchi state College of Education, Azare; Federal polytechnic, Kaura Namoda; Alvan Ikoku College of Education, Owerri; College of Education Agbo, Delta state and Federal Polytechnic, Ibadan, Oyo state, were beneficiaries of N1 billion each.

The high impact intervention of another N24 billion was also earmarked for the fifth phase for Kwara State University, Bauchi State University, Gadau; Kano state University of Science and Technology, Wudi; Enugu State University, University of Uyo and Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, also at N3 billion each.

To complete the amount, N1 billion each was set aside for College of Education, Akwanga, Nasarawa state; Adamawa State Polytechnic, Yola; Federal College of Education (Technical), Gusau, Zamfara state; Federal Polytechnic, Oko, Anambra state; Auchi Polytechnic, Edo state and Michael Otedola College of Primary Education, Epe, Lagos state.
One pertinent factor to note in the distribution of high impact intervention is that he overall total of N108.4 billion had been, equally distributed among tertiary institutions in the six geo-political zones of the country.
Besides this, TETFund Board of Trustees (BoT) also has what it called special intervention, primarily set aside to correct imbalances and deficiencies in critical areas.
They include equipping TVE laboratories in 51 federal and state polytechnics, construction and expansion of multimedia micro-teaching laboratories in 59 federal and state colleges of education.
Others are expansion and completion of special engineering and technology project in 73 federal and state universities and the provision of electronic teaching and learning platform in 79 federal and state universities.