The Federal Government has assured that the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) will not be scrapped, despite initial concerns over its revenue stream under Nigeria’s proposed tax reforms.
The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, disclosed this in Abuja on Thursday while briefing journalists on the government’s planned reforms for the education sector.
In October 2024, President Bola Tinubu submitted four tax reform bills to the National Assembly for consideration.
These include the Nigeria Tax Bill, the Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, the Nigeria Revenue Service Establishment Bill and the Joint Revenue Board Establishment Bill.
A controversial section of the Nigeria Tax Administration Bill proposed the elimination of the education tax, replacing it with a “development levy.”
This change threatened to disrupt funding for TETFund, an agency that has played a crucial role in providing infrastructure for public tertiary institutions over the past decade.
Under the proposed law, the development levy would be introduced in phases, starting at 4% for 2025 and 2026, before reducing to 3% from 2027 to 2029. Initially, 50% of the levy’s proceeds would be allocated to TETFund, rising to 66% from 2027.
But from 2030, TETFund would cease to receive funding, as the levy would be reduced to 2% and directed exclusively towards the federal government’s student loan scheme.
This sparked widespread criticism from stakeholders, who argued that the move would weaken TETFund and further commercialize education.
Responding to these concerns, Alausa clarified that the government is actively working with the tax reform committee and lawmakers to amend the bill to protect TETFund’s revenue source.
He said, “You must have heard reports about the proposed phasing out of TETFund, NASENI, and NITDA by 2030. We have engaged with the National Assembly’s tax reform committee, and I can confidently say this will not happen. As
“TETFund will continue indefinitely. Lawmakers and the executive are working on amendments to ensure that the education tax remains intact. In fact, the percentage allocated to the new development tax levy has been increased to further strengthen funding for education.”
Established in 2011, TETFund is responsible for managing and disbursing education tax funds to public tertiary institutions.
Over the years, the agency has relied on a 2%, later increased to 3%, levy on the assessable profits of registered companies to support infrastructure development and academic programs in universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education.
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