The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) says N3.8 billion was spent as bailout funds on 1,500 Nigerian scholars under its academic training programme abroad, to cushion the effect of the current exchange rate of the naira.

TETFund Executive Secretary Arc Sonny Echono disclosed this during an oversight visit to the Fund by the House of Representatives Committee on Tertiary Education Trust Fund in Abuja on Thursday, May 30, 2024.

Echono, who noted that some of the scholars sponsored by the Fund were encountering some challenges occasioned by the high exchange rate and had requested extra funding, added that the issue resulted in a drop in the number of beneficiaries of the Fund’s academic training programme in foreign institutions.

According to him, the remittance process for scholars in the past was not that good and as such, many institutions had come back to TETFund to express concerns over the payment system.

He said: “But we now pay directly to the institution as part of our intervention. So CBN now transfers in bulk to different institutions for those scholars.

“We have taken care of 1,500 scholars with a total of N3.8 billion expended. We identify a cut-off point for those who will be eligible for the scholarship.”

Reps probe TETFund over slow funds assessment by tertiary institutions

The TETFund boss, who commended Miriam Onuoha-led Reps’ Committee, also reeled out various projects and interventions of the agency fast making positive impacts in the country.

While commending the committee for its support which he said gave rise to the education tax collection from 2.5 per cent to 3 per cent, Echono noted that the collection from education tax in 2020 was N257 billion.

He added that in 2021, TETFund received a sharp decline in the tax collection of N185.5 billion.

He added that the collection rose to N328.8 billion in 2022 and N725 billion in 2023.

Speaking, the chairman of the committee, Miriam Onuoha, lauded Echono for the manner in which he has meticulously executed projects and other interventions in line with the mandate of the TETFund.

Onuoha, however, expressed concern about the situation where funds meant for tertiary institutions were not accessed by those they were meant for.

She urged relevant government bodies as well as state governors to use their instrumentality of office to ensure that heads of institutions comply with TETFund on accessing their funds.

The Star