Tertiary Education Trust Fund
TETFUND
About
The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) is a scheme established by the Federal Government of Nigeria to disburse, manage and monitor the funding of government-owned tertiary education in Nigeria. It was created to improve a sector that had become ineffective due to poor funding. The fund is financed by a 2% tax on the assessable profits of companies registered in Nigeria, which the Federal Inland Revenue Service assesses and collects on its behalf. Money is spent on essential infrastructure, teaching materials, research, academic staff training and other needs for universities, polytechnics and colleges of education, distributed in a ratio of 2:1:1 respectively. The fund is managed by an eleven-member board of trustees.
History
From the 1980s the quality of education in Nigeria declined sharply. Following a review of higher education, an earmarked tax was recommended, and the Education Tax Act No. 7 of 1993 imposed a 2% tax on company profits to create the Education Trust Fund (ETF), which operated at federal, state and local levels. In May 2011 the Education Tax Act was repealed and replaced by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund Act, because the ETF was overburdened, could only provide palliative support, and duplicated the functions of later agencies such as Universal Basic Education and the Millennium Development Goals. The TETFund was established under this Act in 2011. In 2017 the board of trustees criticised federal and state tertiary institutions for failing to produce the documentation needed to access the fund, with N100bn left unallocated as a result.
Key Facts
Established
2011
Headquarters
6 Zambezi Crescent, Off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja, FCT, Nigeria
Executive Secretary
Sonny Echono
Jurisdiction
Federal government of Nigeria
Abbreviation
TETFund
Website
tetfund.gov.ng