DPR vows to ease access to N500 billion TETFund idle at CBN

The House of Representatives has committed to addressing the constraints hindering higher education institutions from utilizing the N500 billion Tertiary Education Institutions Trust Fund (TETFund) currently held with the Central Bank of Nigeria.

This promise was made during a courtesy visit to Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani, who was represented by the Deputy Governor Dr. Hadiza Balarabe, on Thursday. The visit was led by the Chairperson of the House Committee on TETFund and Other Services, Mariam Onuoha.

Onuoha disclosed that three state-owned tertiary institutions in Kaduna have over N1.3 billion in unaccessed funds. He stressed the committee’s focus on improving oversight, accounting for funds that have been disbursed, and addressing challenges faced by institutions in accessing the funds.

The committee commended President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to infrastructural development in Nigeria’s higher education sector, noting that TETFund had contributed to 80 percent of the infrastructural improvements in these institutions.

The committee plans to relax the stringent requirements attached to the TETFund guidelines, aiming to ease access to funds and support project completion.

“One of the main mandates of this committee is to ensure proper oversight of tertiary interventions and make proper accountability of all funds that have been disbursed to bridge the infrastructure gap and improve teaching and learning in all tertiary institutions,” Onuoha said.

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“The committee’s primary responsibility is also to oversee the TETFund, which was established in May. In its work, the committee discovered that over N500 billion was lying unused in the CBN.”

He acknowledged the need for increased funding and interventions in the 12 TETFund lines but also commended the president for his support.

“Eighty percent of the infrastructure that exists in various institutions today is a result of TETFund intervention and, for that, we commend the Federal Government for this good initiative,” he added.

Onuoha also pointed out that the N500 million allocated for a project in 2020 would not be sufficient now due to the contraction. “You will agree with me that contraction will always happen and the N500 million allocated to do this project in 2020 will not be sufficient now, but given the stringent requirements attached to the TETFund guidelines, with regards to the prerequisites for accessing this fund, it is not possible to re-adjust this funding at this time,” he said.

Dr. Balarabe expressed gratitude to the committee for its efforts to address issues affecting access to federal intervention funds. He encouraged state higher education leaders to discuss their challenges openly with the committee to encourage a collaborative approach to finding solutions.

He highlighted the importance of maintaining consistent standards across all departments and improving the quality of state institutions. Balarabe acknowledged that while TETFund interventions are important, sustaining these efforts across all schools is a challenge.

 

 

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