Education

TETFund: N3.8bn Used to Support 1,500 Stranded Nigerian Students Abroad — Echono

Published by Tope Fakinlede on May 31st, 2024.

TETFund: N3.8bn Used to Support 1,500 Stranded Nigerian Students Abroad — Echono

The Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Arc Sonny Echono, revealed that the Federal Government, through TETFund, has spent N3.8 billion to assist Nigerian students stranded overseas in recent years.

Echono shared this information in Abuja during a visit by the House of Representatives Committee on TETFund and other services to the Fund’s headquarters.

“We have provided for 1,500 scholars, with N3.8 billion spent in total. We established criteria for scholarship eligibility,” he stated. He explained that the high exchange rate posed challenges for TETFund-sponsored scholars, many of whom required additional funding, necessitating the N3.8 billion bailout to mitigate the impact of the naira’s current exchange rate.

Echono noted that this situation led to a decrease in the number of beneficiaries of the Fund’s academic training programs in foreign institutions.

He pointed out that the remittance process for scholars was previously problematic, with institutions expressing concerns about the payment system. “We now pay directly to the institutions as part of our intervention, with the CBN transferring funds in bulk to various institutions for the scholars,” he said.

Echono praised the House of Representatives Committee, led by Honourable Miriam Onuoha, for their role in the successful projects and interventions of the agency, which are significantly impacting the country.

He thanked the committee for its support, which has increased the education tax collection from 2.5 percent to 3 percent.

Echono reported that education tax collection was N257 billion in 2020, dropped to N185.5 billion in 2021, but rose to N328.8 billion in 2022 and N725 billion in 2023.

Discussing foreign grants for research, he noted that Nigeria has improved significantly, moving from 9th to 7th position in Africa for attracting research grants, thanks to TETFund’s efforts.

Committee Chairman Miriam Onuoha commended Echono for his effective management of projects and interventions, in line with TETFund’s mandate. She emphasized the committee’s responsibility to ensure that TETFund allocations are properly utilized.

Onuoha expressed concern about the unaccessed funds meant for tertiary institutions and urged relevant government bodies and state governors to ensure institutional compliance with TETFund’s requirements.

She highlighted that the oversight visit aimed to assess the agency’s performance in the 2022–2023 budget year, in accordance with the budgetary provisions.