The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has raised alarm over a provision in the Nigeria Tax Reform Bill 2024 that proposes phasing out the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) by 2030. The union warned that such a move would cripple public tertiary institutions and make education unaffordable for many Nigerians.
ASUU National President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, criticized the proposal, stating that it undermines decades of effort in building and sustaining TETFund. He emphasized that the plan, if implemented, would have dire consequences for the nation’s education system.
“With all the Development Levy going to the Student Loan Scheme or NELFUND, public tertiary institutions will be forced to increase tuition fees, which will become exorbitant. Phasing out TETFund will threaten tertiary education in Nigeria, rendering all the efforts to establish the Education Tax Fund, which later became TETFund, futile,” Osodeke warned.
