President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has given the green light for a substantial N683,429,268 billion in intervention funds for public tertiary education institutions in Nigeria in 2024
The announcement was made by Sonny Echono, the Executive Secretary of Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), during a strategic planning meeting with institution heads in Abuja.
Echono revealed that out of the total amount, 90.75% is allocated for direct disbursement, with 8.94% earmarked for designated special projects.
Additionally, a stabilization of 2.27% has been set aside to address emerging issues.
The breakdown of the allocation includes N1,906,944,930.00 for each university, N1,165,355,235.00 for each polytechnic, and N1,398,426,282.00 for each college of education in the 2024 intervention cycle.
This marks a significant increase compared to the 2023 cycle, emphasizing the administration’s commitment to enhancing education.
Echono credited the success of securing these funds to sustained efforts in expanding and improving the efficiency of education tax collection. The gracious approval of an increase in the tax from 2.5% to 3.0% by President Tinubu in 2023 played a crucial role.
He urged institutions to ensure the smooth, timely, and judicious implementation of the intervention allocation, emphasizing the need for broad consultation with the community in project implementation.
Echono expressed gratitude to President Tinubu for his dedication to education development and to Prof. Tahir Mamman (SAN) for prompt consideration of their requests.
The approved intervention lines in the Annual Direct Disbursement include the establishment of Career Centers/Units in all beneficiary institutions and Institution-Based Skills development for Polytechnics. Special Direct Disbursements encompass increased allocations for the Special High Impact Programme (SHIP) and additional benefits for institutions.
Furthermore, provisions have been made to address currency exchange rate challenges faced by scholars. Research funding, central multipurpose laboratories, agricultural laboratories, and demonstration farms also received allocations in the Year 2024 intervention.
In response, Zubairu Abdullahi, the acting Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Education, highlighted a new hope and commitment from the president, urging stakeholders to redouble efforts to achieve President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope agenda for the education sector.
