ASUU Raises Alarm Over Threat to TETFund Through Proposed Tax Reform Bill

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has expressed grave concerns over the potential elimination of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) by the Federal Government under the guise of the proposed Tax Reform Bill 2024 currently before the National Assembly.

In a statement signed by its National President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, and made available on Tuesday, ASUU called on Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas to use their legislative powers to safeguard TETFund from what the union described as an imminent threat.

ASUU warned that the proposed tax regime, which reallocates portions of the Education Tax (referred to as the Development Levy) to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), poses a severe danger to TETFund’s survival.

The union highlighted a provision in the bill that states only 50% of the Development Levy will be allocated to TETFund for 2025 and 2026, with the remaining portions distributed to NITDA, NASENI, and NELFUND. The allocation to TETFund will further drop to 66.7% between 2027 and 2029, eventually reaching 0% from 2030 onward, with all funds directed to NELFUND.

ASUU described this shift as alarming and detrimental, emphasizing that removing the Development Levy from TETFund undermines its core purpose of supporting infrastructural development, postgraduate training, and research capacity building in Nigeria’s public tertiary institutions.

“Replacing TETFund with NELFUND is akin to killing a parent to keep a newborn child alive. It is unethical and contradicts the principles of natural justice,” the statement read.

ASUU noted that the impact of TETFund over the past 25 years has been transformative, significantly improving public tertiary education in Nigeria. It argued that dismantling the agency would reverse the progress made in repositioning Nigerian universities for global competitiveness and national development.

The union urged the government to strengthen TETFund’s operations and sustainability rather than undermining its mission. It concluded by asserting that the proposed tax reforms, if implemented, would not only weaken the educational sector but also harm the nation’s broader development objectives.