The Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU) has warned the Federal Government against implementing proposed tax reforms, which it claims are aimed at cutting off funding for the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).
In a statement released on Wednesday, the union’s National President, Smart Olugbeko, expressed serious concerns about the reforms’ potential impact on tertiary education.
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Describing the move as a “dangerous ambush,” Olugbeko said it could undermine public tertiary institutions in Nigeria.
“We strongly reject the aspects of the proposed tax administration which aims to withdraw or impede on the source of funds to Tertiary Education Trust Fund. Such injury, if allowed to stand, is bound to undermine the development of public tertiary education in Nigeria,” Olugbeko stated.
TETFund, established as a result of advocacy led by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), has played a vital role in improving infrastructure, research, teaching facilities, and staff development in Nigeria’s public tertiary institutions. According to Olugbeko, tertiary institutions faced dire conditions before TETFund’s inception, with infrastructure in disrepair and no clear government strategy to address the crisis.
“Nigeria’s government has not shown serious concern for education and has willfully destroyed public institutions through its policy somersault and lack of commitment to education,” he said.
Olugbeko also criticized the government for consistently allocating less than 9% of the annual budget to education, far below UNESCO’s recommended 26%. He warned that reforms targeting TETFund’s funding would turn tertiary institutions into profit-driven entities.
“The aspect of the tax reform that allowed TETFund to be stifled of its source of funds will gradually drag tertiary institutions into the stock market, making them become capitalistic ventures for the highest bidders,” he cautioned.
Despite systemic corruption and inefficiencies in many government agencies, Olugbeko commended TETFund for its effectiveness, describing it as “the spine and lifeblood of public tertiary education funding.”
He urged the Federal Government to strengthen and diversify its revenue sources instead of undermining TETFund.
“Rather than killing TETFund through the purported tax reform, the FG should strengthen and expand its revenue accrual sources with a view to sustaining the Fund’s commendable efforts in our institutions,” Olugbeko said.
COEASU called on stakeholders, including students, parents, educators, and civil society groups, to oppose the reforms and protect public tertiary education.
“We suspect a clandestine attempt by the elitist political class to destroy public tertiary institutions completely in order to pave the way for their capitalistic privately owned institutions to thrive,” Olugbeko added.
