The Federal Executive Council has proposed a bill to allocate 30% of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) to the Student Loan Scheme. This move aims to provide a sustainable funding source for Nigerian students.
According to the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the bill seeks to amend Section 3 of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund Act No. 16, 2011. The proposed legislation was approved by the Council on Monday and will be transmitted to the National Assembly for further action.
Onanuga explained that the amendment will enable TETFund to set aside 30% of its initial allocation from the Federation Account to support the Nigerian Education Loan Fund. “Some of us may have wondered how we are going to fund the loans we are giving to Nigerian students. Most of the funding will now come from the money going to TETFund,” he stated.
The bill also imposes a 5% cap on TETFund’s annual administration costs. This means that TETFund can only spend up to 5% of its income on administrative expenses, including salaries and capital projects.
Onanuga noted that the Federal Government is proposing this change because TETFund’s focus should not only be on building infrastructure but also on ensuring students can utilize these facilities with the help of loans from NELFund.
The proposed allocation is supplementary, as the Federal Government will also provide budgetary allocation to NELFund.
